Hold on to me
by CupcakeSprinkles14
Summary: Modern Day AU: Peeta Mellark is a good boy. He gets straight A's, never causes trouble and always hides in the shadows of those around him. But when bad girl Katniss Everdeen moves to his school and takes a shine to him, Peeta is dragged into a world of drugs, sex and violence. How far would you go for the one you loved?
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hey guys! I just had to get this idea down before I forgot it! :D :D**_

_**(Characters are OCC)**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games or it's characters. Or Shakespeare's works either.**_

Chapter One: The new girl in town

The shrill ring of his alarm clock was what he woke up to. Peeta groaned and reached out blindly, not removing his face from where it was currently smushed against his pillow, to switch the criminal gadget off. His hand just missed the clock and sent it to the floor, still bleeping away. Knowing getting up is now ineviatable, Peeta pushed off the bed lazily, rubbing his eyes. He looked down at the annoying clock-which still didn't have the decencey to shut up-and scooped it up into his hand.

A sigh of relief escaped him as silence filled the room and he placed the clock back onto his bedside table, setting it for the same time tomorrow, knowing that it will be the exact same routine again the next morning. Peeta didn't mind that. Change wasn't his most favourite of things.

"Peeta!" His mother screeched up the stairs-breaking the silence and making him jump-"You better be up!"

"I'am mom!" Peeta called back.

"You better not be lying boy!" His mother replied. "Or I'll clip your ear!"

"I'm not lying!" he said back. He stood up and headed into the bathroom to get ready for school. Peeta's mother wasn't the most cherising person in the world, definetly not going to win any #1 mom awards any time soon. It could be worse . . . there's people out there with no mothers at all . . . that was a bad thing, right?

School wasn't the worst places to be during the week. It was better than staying at home 24/7. Then again, Peeta knew that most people didn't feel the same way and on many a number of occasions he'd been told he was a nerd so maybe that's why he didn't mind compulsory education too much. Although, being the only district in the entirety of Panem to have school uniforms was a tad irritating. Especially when the colours were criminal.

Staring at himself in the mirror, Peeta winced slightly at his reflection. Black and green were_ not_ the best colours for clothes at all. He attempted to fix his messy hair and sighed when a section at the back kept springing back up.

The door to the bedroom burst open and Peeta's brother Rye stumbled in, panting as if he'd just ran a marathon. "Mom's about to bust a nut Peet," he said. "We need to get out there before she loses her wig."

"It's not even that late," Peeta replied, confused. He smoothed back the springy part of his hair, sighing when it sprang back up.

"There's some deliveries that need done on the way there," Rye explained. Compared to his brother, Rye looked like he'd been dragged backwards through a hedge with his shirt untucked, tie loosened casually, and shoes covered in dirt. "And she's absoloutely convinced we won't make them all if we don't leave _now._"

"Can't Nann do it?" Their eldest brother-Nathan-was the only one of the three who didn't have a bread related name so-as punishment for such an injustice-both Peeta and Rye decided to call him Nann. Nathan left school a couple of years ago and now worked part time at the bakery.

Rye shook his head. "He's doing community service. Broke curfew last night and mom has him cleaning up the store room. Now come on, we need to _go!_"

It wasn't that the Mellark boys were afraid of their mother but they weren't partically fond of making her angry for . . . reasons. Peeta sighed and grabbed his backpack, following his brother out the door and down the stairs to where their mother stood impatiently at the door to the bakery, tapping her foot irritabely.

"What took you so long?" she snapped.

"Sorry mom," Peeta sighed, knowing it was best to not point out the fact that it was her fault he wasn't ready on time because she hadn't told him that they were doing some deliveries on the way to school.

"What am I going to do with you?" Mrs. Mellark sighed heavily. She opened the door and ficked her head through the doorway. "Both of you: out."

District 12 High School wasn't even that far from the Mellark bakery, in fact, it was literally down the road. Peeta and Rye had claimed on numerous occasions that they could walk (mostly to stay out of the road of their mom) but Mrs. Mellark said the same thing every single time.

_"I'am not having my sons walking down the filthy Seam streets with all the other brats!"_

Peeta didn't mind the Seam, or the people who lived in it, but most of the residents of the Merchant part of town were too far up themselves to think of the Seam kids as anything but people to look down their noses at. The children of the Seam always seem to have more fun. Merchant kids are expected to be polite, stay inside to work on learning the family business and never socialize with anyone apart from those close to them. Peeta wondered what it was like to be from the Seam. To be free to go out at night, to have friends, to not have the burden of taking over the family business hovering over your shoulders. Sometimes Peeta wished that was the life he had.

As his mother ushered Rye and himself into the car, Peeta spied Madge Undersee walking down her path with an unfamilar girl. Madge was the mayor's daughter and he'd occasionally say hello to her in passing but they didn't know each other too well. Madge was mostly quiet anyway. The girl beside Madge caught his attention the most. Her hair was tied in a messy braid but that was all Peeta could make out. His curiousity burning, he tried to see who it was, but his mother suddenly pulled the car off the curb and his face smashed into the glass window. Rye burst out laughing at him.

"Smooth move slick," he cackled as Peeta groaned in pain and pinched his nose.

"Shut up Rye," he snapped.

When he turned back to where he was staring, both girls were gone. Peeta sighed and slumped back into his seat as his mother drove past the Mayor's home.

~xXx~

Registration was the class Peeta tried the most to stay invisible. It was one of the things he did best but when he did occasionally capture the attention of the odd popular girl or jock it turned into an entire fifteen minutes of 'poke fun at the bread boy' before the bell rang.

For the past year, he had been working through numerous Shakespeare novels and he'd just begun 'The Taming of the Shrew,' the previous night. Sometimes even just deciding to read instead of using the free time to finish homework or chat to his non existant friends was enough of a reason to give the people in his class to decide to start of him. He didn't know why though. Reading was reading. Maybe their puny minds were still too primitive to understand that.

"Okay class, settle down," Mr. Abernathy snapped as he shuffled into the room. Peeta srunched up his nose as the man passed his desk reeking of alcohol but hid the disgust evident on his face by burying his nose further into the book. "We've got a new student today so be nice and don't give her any of your usual shit."

"Can I come in now?" A confident voice snapped outside the room.

"You were always allowed in sweetheart," Mr. Abernathy snapped back.

"I know," the voice replied. A tanned girl stepped into the room wearing a bright grin. "But I _do_ love to make an entrance."

Peeta was immediately rapted. The girl's dark smoky eyes seemed to hynotise him as they flicked around the room, scanning the area. She was obviously a Seam girl with her caramel skin and dark brown hair which was tied into a braid that wrapped around her shoulder. Then it came to him, she must have been who was walking with Madge this morning. How odd. She didn't seem like the sort Madge would hang around with.

"This is Katniss Everdeen-"

"Sup," Katniss joked, jerking her chin up as she spoke.

Mr. Abernathy glared at her. Katniss made a face and zipped her lips. "And she's transferred from home education," he continued. "So, I say again, be nice."

Katniss unzipped her lips. "Or don't. Whatever. I don't care."

"Take a seat Katniss," Mr. Abernathy sighed.

"Oookaayyy," Katniss replied, scanning the room once more for a seat. Peeta thought she'd chose the one at the back but was internally alarmed as she plopped down on the seat beside him. She dropped her satchel heavily to the floor and kicked her feet up onto the desk.

Her uniform was altered to match her personality. The regulation green girl's skirt was hiked up her thighs and the white blouse was a size too small so the button at her bust looked like it was going to burst (Not that he was looking at her bust. Not at all.) Her black school cardigan was covered in different coloured badges and her tie was loose and small. The look was pulled off with leather combat boots on her feet. Peeta wondered how she could be comfortable walking around the school dressed like that. Especially with all the pervs that hung around.

Peeta tried to ignore the urge to stare at the beautiful girl and focused his eyes on the words on the page of the book. It was working just fine until a bony elbow nudged his arm.

"So, you know my name, what's yours?" Katniss asked, rocking back on her seat. Was she talking to him? She couldn't be . . . no-one spoke to him unless they were mocking him, especially not someone as beautiful as her. Her grey eyes stared at him ecxpectantly and he concluded that she was talking to him.

"Um, P-Peeta," he said, cursing himself as he stuttered. "Peeta M-Mellark."

"Okay, P-Peeta," Katniss grinned. "What'cha reading?"

"Ah, The taming of the Shrew."

"Oh! I know that! It's written by that english dude right? Who was born like a thousand years ago?" Katniss asked enthusiastically.

"Uh . . . yeah, sure," Peeta replied. It seemed to be the best she could do and it was better than some of the stuff other people thought it was.

"You've got to lend me that sometime," Katniss decided. She picked at one of the badges on her cardigan.

Peeta nodded and tried to go back to reading again. Katniss seemed like a nice girl and he sure as hell didn't want to be the reason she didn't make her way in the school just because she was caught talking to him. She still had a chance of climbing the social ladder. It was best that she just left him behind now before she got stuck at the bottom with him and bubbly Delly Cartwright. At least Delly had a poodle at home that liked her . . .

Katniss fashioned a paper airplace and sent it soaring through the class where it landed right in Mr. Abernathy's gel slicked hair. It was so greasy that the airplace sat upright and didn't fall out. The teacher didn't notice. Katniss sniggered. "Did you see that?" she chuckled.

"Uh-huh," Peeta replied, not looking up from the pages. "Bullseye."

There was a pause as Katniss scrutinized him. "I like you," she finally concluded. "You're funny." That pulled him up short. Was she joking? Being sarcastic? Setting him up for some joke? Well, he wasn't going to fall for it.

"Look, I know you're new and all that but you really don't want to be caught with me," Peeta explained to her quietly. "You'll lose any chances of a social life like that-" he clicked his fingers-"because I'm nothing and if you're nice to me, you'll be nothing too."

Katniss listened carefully, her blood red lips pursed. "So you're a loser?" she asked.

"You could say that, yes," Peeta answered. Katniss nodded.

"Don't worry," she smiled, scruffing his hair, wrecking the work he had done to tidy it that morning. She grinned, happy with the new hairstyle. "That won't be a problem."

_**A/N: So this is a work in progress. Please let me know what you think!**_

_**Please R&R! :D**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! I'm really happy with the response to this story! Here's chapter two for y'all! :D **_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.**_

Chapter Two: What is there to lose?

"Peeta!"

Peeta paused as he looked around for the source of the voice. It was the end of the school day and his mother was parked just a couple of yards down from the school. He knew better than to keep her waiting but also didn't want to ignore whoever was calling him. When he turned around, he was greeted by the sight of Katniss pushing through groups of students to get to him.

"Hey!" she said as she reached him. "I thought I'd lost ya!"

"I didn't even know you were looking . . ." Peeta trailed off and frowned. Why was she so concerned about finding him anyway?

"Since you're like, the only friend I've made, of course I'm going to try and find you," Katniss stated as if obvious. "I was wondering if you had any other of those books written by the english dude I could borrow."

"What? Shakespeare?" Peeta frowned. Katniss nodded, flicking her braid behind her shoulder and planting her hands on her hips.

"Uh-huh," she nodded. "The english teacher, Miss. Trinket, has told me to get some sort of book to read to do a report on for Monday. I mean, can you believe it?! First day and I've already gotten an assignment! I probably won't do it anyway but I might as well show that I've made an effort . . ." She paused, gazing over his shoulder.

Peeta looked behind himself and rolled his eyes at the popular bunch that stood by the gates, a couple of them staring at him in distaste. Most people called them the Careers because only the select few got into the group. One of them was Glimmer Sparkles, captain of the cheerleading squad. The girl had transferred from District 1 and had taken an immediate disliking to Peeta just because he didn't want to go on a date with her when she asked. Sometimes he wondered if that would have been his gateway into having friends, even though if that was the case he still probably wouldn't have taken the oppurtunity. Cato, the captain of the football team, leaned into the girl's ear and whispered something obviously amusing. Glimmer's face broke into a wide grin and she laughed, turning her back on Peeta.

He was relieved.

"What's that all about?" Katniss asked, a frown furrowed on her face.

Peeta rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Ah, nothing. Sure, I'll bring in one of those books for you tomorrow. I think I'll . . . uh . . . go out the back way . . ." He turned on his heel and went to head around the back of the building when Katniss grabbed his arm.

"Hold on," she said. Peeta stopped and watched as the girl dropped her bag onto the ground and rummaged inside. "I'm sure I left them in here somewhere . . ."

Peeta studied Katniss' profile carefully as she dug inside her bag for something. He wondered if he'd be able to capture it when he was back home and sitting infront of a blank canvas.

"Ah-ha!" Katniss grinned, pulling a clear plastic packet full of smaller coloured packets inside. She produced a water bottle out of her bag as well.

"What are they?" Peeta asked cautiously as Katniss ripped the bag open with her teeth and grabbed a blue packet, filling it with the water from her bottle.

"Water balloons," Katniss replied.

"Uh . . . and what are you planning to do with them?"

"Chuck 'em at the assholes over there," she replied flippantly. She'd now filled and tied off five different coloured balloons.

"Who? The Careers? You can't throw water balloons at the Careers!" Peeta exclaimed. Was this girl suicidal? Katniss just scoffed.

"Why not?" she replied, standing up and throwing one into the air and catching it again.

"Because they're the _careers_, you just can't!"

Katniss raised her eyebrows, turned and fired the first water balloon in the direction of the careers. It landed and burst by their feet, sending a spray of water everywhere. She picked up another and chucked it as well, this one flying in a wide arc and landing right on Glimmer's head. The girl shrieked as water exploded over her. Peeta could only stand by and watch as Katniss threw the rest at them, each one hitting at least one member of the four careers. It was hilarious watching them get soaked and he fought back a smile as Glimmer dove into freak out mode about her hair.

The smile dissolved as Cato locked eyes with him and Katniss. The water balloon firing girl continued to laugh, grabbing Peeta's hand and dragging him round the back before Cato could come after them.

"Oh my god, that was hilarious!" she cackled. "Did you see that blonde girl? 'My hair! My hair!' _Priceless!"_

"Uh . . . but, you know, you could get in trouble for doing that," Peeta replied nervously, glancing around the school wall to where the Careers were angrily yelling at each other, dripping wet. "I mean, water balloons are against the rules and all that . . ."

Katniss studied him carefully for a moment with a frown. "Are you a goodie goodie as well as a loser?" she asked.

Peeta's heart sank. "Kinda. Yeah."

The brunette grinned. "Even better," she said. "I love goodie goodies. You're all so innocent. So much more fun to play with." She smiled brightly and popped her head around the wall to look at the careers again.

"Play . . . with?"

"Shit," Katniss cursed. "Mr. Abernathy's coming . . ." She whirled around on her heels to face him again. "Meet me at the Seam later?"

"Uh . . . I can't," Peeta said. "My mother doesn't let me . . . out . . ."

Katniss pursed her lips, looking thoughtful. "You got a bedroom window?" she asked.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"Then use it. Eight o'clock. Be there P-Peeta," Katniss grinned.

Their form teacher appeared a millisecond later with an angry frown on his face. "Miss. Everdeen, Mr. Mellark, sources tell me that you've brought an arsenal into school," he said.

"Oh yeah," Katniss replied. "We've got some pipe bombs in our backpacks and a machine gun in the truck." She lowered her voice to a whisper. "We're planning on blowing up the school." Mr. Abernathy's frown deepened, not sure whether she's telling the truth or not.

"That's not exactly what was reported," he said.

"Oh, you're talking about the balloons, aren't you? Whoops, my bad," Katniss said. She nudged Peeta. "Looks like that's our plan up in smokes, eh?"

"Quit with the sarcasm Everdeen. Get out of here, both of you. Different directions. Go," Mr. Abernathy ordered. Katniss winked at Peeta before turning and walking in one direction. Peeta turned and went to walk in the oppisote directon when Mr. Abernathy grabbed his arm. "You be careful kid. That girl's not good for you. You're a good kid Mellark. Don't let her posion you."

"I w-won't," Peeta replied. Mr. Abernathy smiled and patted his back.

"Good," he said.

Peeta suddenly remembered about his mother waiting on him and he internally cursed, running out of the school grounds and skidding to a stop on the pavement, looking for where his mother was parked. When he spotted the car, he wasn't fond of the look on the driver's face.

"What happened you?!" his mother demanded as he climbed into the car.

"Um, Mr. Abernathy held me back to talk about the assignment I missed last week when I was sick," Peeta lied. He hadn't really ever lied before and he hadn't thought it'd be this easy.

"I knew I shouldn't have let you stay off," Mrs. Mellark muttered. "I'm too good to you."

"I know mom," Peeta sighed. "I know."

~xXx~

Half seven. It was half seven.

Peeta sat cross legged on his bed, staring at his bedroom window. Should he sneak out and meet her? What if his mother discovered he'd gone? She'd kill him. Not just kill him, probably kill him and put his head on a spike.

But Katniss was the only person who'd ever shown any interest of becoming his friend. His thoughts were consumed with her ever since he got home from school. The image of her mysterious grey eyes were burned into his mind. So much so that he had to sit down and sketch them out into his sketchpad before he did anything else when he arrived home. It unnerved him how this girl could get under his skin so fast and root herself there.

Did it matter though? Peeta couldn't remember the last time someone actually took an interest in being his friend. Even if there was a part of him that didn't understand how she could possibly want to hang out with him. In the Seam of all places. Katniss was cool, loud, brave and beautiful while he was boring, quiet, cowardly and average. They were polar oppisotes. Katniss seemed to fit the Careers more than anything.

Peeta got off his bed and fiddled with the lock on the window, pushing it open and peering outside. Apart from losing his head if his mother ever found out, what else had he to lose?

_**A/N: Let me know what you think! :)**_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Nathan had went to the Seam once. That was the only reason Peeta knew how to get there. Rye had dared their big brother to go into the heart of the Seam a couple of months ago and he did. In fact, that's where he met his girlfriend Sarah, who he has been sneaking out to see for weeks now. Which is also the reason why he is now stuck cleaning up the store room because he broke curfew. Thankfully, their mother doesn't know why Nathan was out but it can't be much longer before he does.

The drop from his bedroom window hadn't been too bad. In fact, Peeta just shut his eyes and leaped before he could over think it. He hadn't injured himself, thank god, but there was a dull ache settling into his right arm which couldn't be a good sign.

Peeta was relieved when he saw Katniss waiting for him at the area behind the town square where the Merchant busniesses began panning out into Seam buildings. She was kitted out in a short black skirt and a red shirt. A black leather jacket was tied around her waist and her combat boots that she'd worn at school were still on her feet. Her smoky eyes lit up when she saw him.

"You came," she said.

"Well, you told me to," he replied.

"Well, you've certainly passed the first test anyway," Katniss grinned. She took in what he was wearing and pursed her lips. "You're looking good by the way."

Heat rushed to his cheeks as he looked down at what he'd put on once he'd gotten out of his uniform. It was just his old white shirt that he wears when he was working his shifts at the bakery and a pair of jeans. In fact, Peeta had worried that he had dressed too causally.

"Um, thanks. You look good . . . too." _Smooth_, he thought. _Real smooth._

Katniss' grin widened and she pushed off the wall she was leaning against and approached him. "Glad you think so," she said. "Come on, we're going this way." She hooked her arm through his and steered him off in the direction she intended to go in. Her close proximity made Peeta's heart jerk off into a frenzy, beating so fast he feared she could her it.

The Seam was different to the Merchant part of town in so many ways. Around this time, the Merchant area would be so quiet you could hear a pin drop, all the kids already being either sent up to bed or working late night shifts that their business. Merchant parents were strict and never allowed their children out late and gave them curfews for seven o'clock. To a normal person it sounded ridiculous but being raised as a Merchant all his life, Peeta had thought it a luxury to be allowed to stay up to eight o'clock every night, even as the sixteen year old he was now.

But the Seam? Little kids played curbsey with balls made of the pig's stomach Rhoba had probably dumped a while ago, adults sat on their old rickedy porches, chatting lazily to each about what a lovely evening it was, a dog ran crazily around the kids, tail wagging as it sniffed things curiously while the teenagers sat on a long wall at the end of a cul-de-sac like area, either making out or chatting. The Seam was teeming with life!

"Stay close," Katniss ordered. "We members of the Seam aren't fond of outsiders. Especially Merchant outsiders." The thought didn't do anything to quell Peeta's rapidly beating heart and his chest felt tight as they got closer to walking through the lining of houses. Katniss noticed how nervous he was and grinned. "Don't panic. Just walk like you own the joint. That's what I do."

"Yeah, but you're not the one who sticks out like a sore thumb," Peeta muttered, prompting a laugh from the brunette.

"You'll be fine, seriously. You're with me. There's worse things that can happen."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Well, once, this guy from District 6 tried to walk through these parts and ended up getting torn to shreds because his red hair didn't match our qualities," Katniss said seriously. "We got old Lassie to rip him apart." She bit her lip and took in Peeta's shocked expression. "I'm joking!"

Peeta flushed. "Oh, yeah, course. I knew that."

Katniss rolled her eyes. "Of course you did." She chuckled and slapped his arm playfully. "I swear, you're so easy to wind up. But I'am serious, you will be just fine. We've had Merchants here before, just don't get on our bad sides, okay?"

"Um, okay," Peeta replied.

"Some guy who looked just like you came here a couple of weeks ago," Katniss said as they strolled down the pavement. Peeta resisted the urge to meet the eyes of those staring at him. "Sarah took a liking to him. Of course, when Sarah wants something . . ." She trailed off as if it was the most common thing to know what Sarah did when she wanted something.

"Uh, yeah. That was my brother actually. Nann," Peeta said. Katniss stared at him for a moment before biting her bottom lip to fend off her impending laughter.

"Nann?" she chuckled. "His name is Nann?"

"Well, no. It's Nathan. But my other brother and I call him Nann because he's the only boy in the family without a bread name," Peeta explained. "Since my parents own the bakery."

"Pee-ta," Katniss said with a frown. "Peee-ta. Peeta pita. Pita. Pita! Pita bread!"

"Uh . . . yeah," Peeta admitted somewhat sheepishly. "Nann, Rye and Peeta." Katniss burst out laughing, hanging onto him for support as she stamped her foot on the ground as if trying to stamp out the laughter.

"Ohmigod," she said all in a rush. "That's hilarious!"

"It's not that funny . . ."

Katniss straightened up and pulled on the hem of her shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles. "Okay, okay, eye for an eye. I'm called Katniss after a plant root. My father and I used to go out into the woods and hunt every weekend. He used to say, 'As long as you can find yourself, you'll never go hungry.' That is . . . before he passed."

Peeta could have laughed at her story like he did to her but he didn't. It was a beautiful story that he wouldn't dream of laughing at. "I'm sorry," he said.

"Whoa, don't get all emotional on me now," Katniss said, squeezing into a small alleyway between too houses at the bottom of the cul-de-sac. "I've had enough tears to keep Niagra going for a century." The ground under their feet was wet and soggy, obviously not having dried up from the April showers the District suffered the previous year, and the sky overheard was becoming overcast with heavy clouds, a sign that there'd be more rain pretty soon.

"Where are we going exactly?" Peeta asked as they came out on the other end of the alley in a gravelly expanse of land.

"Since you have no friends, I'm gonna introduce you to some of mine," Katniss explained, taking his hand and dragging him off to where an old warehouse sat. "This is our hangout, the hob. We all join up together for various districts and have a bit of a throwdown."

"A what?"

"I don't know, the word just came into my head. A party. Kind of."

Peeta noticed a small spark of light and as they got closer he realized it was an old oil drum lit on fire to light up the area. Katniss quickened her pace as they approached and broke away completely, sprinting across the last stretch of land and jumping on the back of an unsuspecting man by the oil drum. "Gale!" she laughed, rubbing her knuckles into the man's hair, nuggie style.

"Catnip," the man replied, hooking his arms behind Katniss' knees and straightening up so she doesn't fall off him. "Haven't seen you around lately."

"Yeah, well, been busy," Katniss sniffed, resting her head on the man's-very probably Gale's-shoulder. "This, that and the other. You know, the youse."

"Always doing something, eh?" Gale laughed.

"Yup, that's me!" Katniss grinned. Peeta suddenly felt like an intruder, even if Katniss had been the person who'd taken her there. Maybe if he slipped away now, she wouldn't notice and would decide that he really wasn't worth giving her attention to. "Hey Peet! You gonna get over here or what?" Okay, forget that plan . . .

Gale tilted his head in curiousity as he noticed Peeta for the first time. "Bring us some fresh meat then Kat?" he said. Katniss slapped him and tugged his hair as hard as she could. "Ow!"

"Shut it Gale, he's freaked out enough as it is!" Katniss scolded. "Don't listen to him Peeta. Gale's an idiot." She slid off Gale's back and threaded her arm back through Peeta's. "Come on, I'll introduce to you everyone." As they past Gale, she flicked her head. "You coming or what?"

"You know I'am," Gale replied.

"Right, okay, where are they today?" Katniss asked as they walked.

"Over by ol' bessie," Gale replied.

Katniss nodded and took a sharp turn inside the warehouse. Inside was a gigantic expanse of land without a proper floor. A wide spot of light burst through a big hole in the ceiling, lighting up the area. When Peeta glanced up at the hole he noted that the light was coming from the moon. In the corner of the room, a group of people hung around an old red car.

"Guys!" Katniss shouted. "I'am here! The party can now start!" She was greeted by whoops and cheers as she got closer, obviously very popular with this group.

"Katniss you wee dog, we haven't seen you in ages!" someone called.

Katniss grinned and shrugged her shoulders once they reached the group. "What can I say? I've been busy."

Peeta did a quick sweep with his eyes over the group. It consisted of a muscled man with bronze hair and devasting good looks and a wide grin, a meek looking woman with long brown hair who clung to the bronze haired man like he was a lifeline, another woman with short brown hair who sat on the hood of the car who had a dark haired boy sitting by her feet.

The woman on the hood of the car quirked an eyebrow at him and grinned devillishly at Katniss. "Found youself another plaything then?" she smirked.

"Shut it Mason," Katniss replied. Peeta would have been comforted with Katniss' response to the question if it hadn't of been the fact that she was grinning when she said it and her grip on his arm had became distinctly tighter.

"You ol' minx," the woman laughed.

"Let me introduce all of you," Katniss said, ignoring the cackling brunette. "Guys, this is Peeta. Peeta, that's Finnick, Annie, Blight, you've met Gale and that's the wicked witch of the west." They waved or nodded at him before falling back into their chatting while the woman on the car continued to laugh.

"Ha ha," she snorted.

"It's really Johanna Mason," Katniss sighed as if wishing that she were the wicked witch of the west.

"Which technically means the same thing," Blight said. Johanna scowled and whacked him across the head. "Ow!"

"Shut it," Johanna snapped. Blight immediately fell quiet. Johanna smiled and scruffed his hair.

"Ignore them," Finnick said. "It's always like this."

"What do you expect?" Katniss said, snatching the beer out of his hands and taking a swig for herself. "I mean, isn't this what sub-dom relationships are like?" Peeta inhaled his own spit and choked.

"A what-what relationship?" he asked as he heaved for breath. Katniss smiled in a poor-innoncent-baker-boy way and took the beer back off him to take another drink herself.

"Sub-dom," Finnick said. "Johanna's big on the sadism thing right now."

"Poor Blight," Katniss sighed.

"Oi! He volunteered," Johanna snapped. "You did it too last year Everdeen! Don't think I don't remember that!"

"Oh yeah," Katniss said as if it was no big deal. "Sure, I was just experimenting." The thought of Katniss walking around with some guy on a leash made Peeta feel faint and he leaned against the car to gain his feet. Katniss noticed and grinned. "You okay there soldier?" she asked.

"Uh, uh-huh," Peeta replied, nodding a bit too enthusiastically. What exactly was it he had gotten himself into? This morning he'd woken up and his life was normal. He got up, blended in, and came home after school. And now all it took was meeting one girl and his life was already getting thrown into a blender.

Johanna groaned. "Don't tell me it's another innocent? Jesus Kat can't you get me someone I can _work _with! Experience next time please!"

"Good thing this one isn't for you then isn't it!" Katniss retorted, heading over to a small blue and white box. "What do you drink Peeta?" She looked over her shoulder at him and frowned. What? Did she mean alcohol? Surely she knew he didn't drink alcohol. "Oh right, goodie goodie," Katniss said. "Okay, here"-she produced a glass bottle from the box and handed it to him-"it's beer. Try it."

"I'm good," Peeta replied, waving her off. Katniss sized him up for a moment before shrugging and popping the cap with her teeth.

"Suit yourself. All the more for me," she said. Slowly, deliberately, she wrapped her lips around the nozzle of the bottle and tipped it back. Her chocolate hair fell back and Peeta averted his eyes nervously as her long neck was exposed to him as she downed the beer.

"How much of that do you . . . drink?" he asked to distract himself.

"Enough," Katniss replied.

"Spare us the 'it's bad for you liver' lecture by the way," Johanna said. "Ripped sponge, we get it."

Annie giggled and took a sip out of her cherryade bottle. Finnick smiled at her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Peeta's eyes flicked between the group suspiciously. He couldn't help feeling out of place, like he didn't belong. He'd literally only just met Katniss and she'd already trusted him enough to have brought him here to meet her friends? It was confusing.

Katniss disappeared for a moment, returning moments later with another beer. "Go on, try some. It ain't half bad."

"Watch it Kat, the kid could be a lightweight," Johanna warned. Peeta wasn't sure what the term meant but it certainly didn't sound cheerful.

"Take it a sip at a time," Katniss suggested. She popped the cap with her teeth and handed him the bottle. Bubbles rose to the surface of the drink, popping randomly and Peeta swallowed the lump in his throat. He carefully brought the bottle to his lips and drank a little it.

It tasted awful.

Katniss laughed as his face contorted in disgust. The beer was bitter and left an after taste in his mouth. "You'll get used to it," she said, patting his arm. "Just, you know, don't chug it . . . yet."

"Aw man, I wanted to see the kid pass out," Johanna pouted.

"Johanna," Finnick sighed, shaking his head.

"What? It's fun. It's always the goodie two shoes who go first," Johanna replied. "Isn't that right Blight-io?"

Blight rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh."

Katniss took a sip of her drink and nudged Peeta. "What would you be doing right about now? What do the Merchants do for fun? I've always wondered . . ."

"Uh . . . we'd be in bed by now," Peeta answered sheepishly. Katniss' eyes widened, Johanna and Gale snorted, Finnick cocked his head in confusion and Annie's mouth made a perfect 'o' shape.

"Jeez, I knew you were sticklers but bed? At nine o'clock? Fuck how can you sleep?" Gale asked.

Peeta frowned and cradled the beer in his hands. "By going to bed at that time every night since I was a child?" he replied. "We have to because we have to get up early every morning to start filling bread orders . . . and the other Merchants the same for their businesses . . ."

"That sucks," Finnick said.

"It's like you're a prisoner," Johanna added.

"Don't worry," Katniss smiled, leaning her head on Peeta's shoulder. He looked at her, slightly startled, and watched closely as she drank more. "We're going to fix that."

_**A/N: Please R&R! :)**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Sorry for the wait guys!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games.**_

Chapter Four

Peeta woke up to a headache. Every ring of his alarm was like a sledgehammer to his brain. He groaned and slapped the device so hard it broke when it hit the floor. Oh perfect. His mother would have his head for that. He pushed himself off the bed and ran a hand through his hair. How did he get home last night? He couldn't remember going home at all.

He turned to his mirror and found a note stuck to his reflection.

_Peeta, you dozed off. I mean, literally dozed off. You fell asleep in the backseat of old bessie. I'm gonna have to fix that Merchant body clock of yours. Don't feel bad, it could happen to anyone. And, no need to thank me, but I saved you from Johanna unbuttoning your pants to see how big your dick was. Don't worry about it, Johanna does that to everyone. (She has a list of inches)._

_See you in school,_

_Katniss_

_P.S: You look cute when you sleep._

Oh god, how embarressing. He fell asleep? In front of Katniss and her friends? How did she get him home? There was no way she could have carried him, right?

On his way out of the bakery, Rye caught his arm and pulled him to a stop. "Good news, he said, "Mom had to leave early this morning. Some friend giving birth, so we have to walk today." This improved Peeta's mood incredibly, not having to travel in his mother's car had to be the best news he could ever hear.

"Hey, do you know where the _Romeo and Juliet_ book is?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, I think Naan said he found it in the store room," Rye replied. Nodding, Peeta turned and slipped into the store room behind the counter.

"Oh, and your girlfriend is waiting for you outside."

"Who?!" Peeta exclaimed, hitting his head on the shelf above his head as he reached in to get the book. Grabbing the paperback, he went back out into the bakery to find his brother smiling.

Rye gestured outside. Frowning, Peeta walked around the counter and peered out of the scracthed window. Katniss was sitting on the wall across from the bakery. Her foot was tapping against the brick foundation and her head was tilted toward the sky. The sun was beating down on her face, making her tanned skin glow in the light, and her braid was pressed against the nape of her neck. She looked beautiful.

"Peet you ol' dog, why didn't you tell me you had a girl?" Rye asked when Katniss opened her eyes and noticed them looking through the window at her. She grinned and waved.

"She's not _my_ girl," Peeta muttered in reply, grabbing his satchel and shrugging it over his shoulder. "She's a friend."

Rye pulled a face. "Oh, right, of course. She's a 'friend.'" He winked and gave his brother the thumbs up. Peeta scowled in response and left him behind in the bakery. He can walk to school on his own since he's not even ready to leave. Rye's a big boy, surely he'll manage.

Plus, Peeta didn't want him to talk to Katniss. Who knows what he'd say.

"Hey!" Katniss called as soon as he left the building. She waved to make sure he saw her and grinned when he started making his way over to her. "How are you, sleeping beauty?"

"Good," Peeta replied. "You?"

Katniss shrugged. "Can't complain," she said. Her eyes flicked to the book in his hands. "What's that?"

"Ah, _Romeo and Juliet_," Peeta said, showing her the front cover. "You asked for a Shakesphere book. Do you still need it?"

Katniss cocked her head, her braid falling to the side. Her eyes went dark, as if calculating the gesture. "You actually brought me a book?" she asked in disbelief. Peeta's heart rate quickened. Had she been joking when she said she needed a Shakesphere novel? Would he seem needy and weird for bringing her one so soon? Katniss smiled and took the book out of his hands and turned it over in her own. "Th-thank you," she said.

He felt a wash of relief come over him. "No problem," he sighed.

Katniss opened up the book and Peeta watched the grey in her eyes brighten as she scanned over the contents page. "Love story, huh?" she asked.

"Well, it's more a story of tragedy," Peeta answered, scratching the back of his head. "The love story is more of a sub-genre. Like a smaller genre within the main one. "

Katniss squinted before nodding slowly, as if understanding what he's saying vaguely. Peeta was just glad that she didn't scoff or mutter 'nerd' like the people in his literacy class when he tried to describe a book to them. "Sounds good," she said. "Tragedy."

A thick silence fell between them and Peeta racked his brain for something decent to say. Something that wouldn't sound nerdy or geeky or stupid. Basically something that wouldn't scare her off. But then again, anything that he said always ended up sounding wrong in one way or another. Like his own natural-abeit socially awkward-charm.

"It's a good book," he blurted out.

"As good as taming the shrew?" Katniss asked.

Peeta chuckled. "You mean _The Taming of the Shrew?_ Yeah, just as good."

"Well, they say this Shakesphere dude is good," Katniss agreed. "I don't know much but I think I've heard in passing. This should show that smug bitch I'm supposed to call my english teacher who can read. "

Peeta frowned. "They thought you couldn't read?"

"You know what they're like. New girl? From the Seam? It's just a common assumption that she can't read." Katniss shrugged as if it was no big deal. Peeta was apalled. He didn't know that people thought kids from the Seam couldn't read. Was that what people thought?

"Well, doesn't matter now cuz' I'm gonna show her who can read!" Katniss laughed.

"If there's any more books you wanna borrow . . . " Peeta trailed off and swallowed. "I've got plenty."

"I'm sure you do," she said with a sly smile. The way the corners of her lips turned up perfectly made his heart quicken and his insides melt. Katniss hopped off the wall and straightened her skirt. "So, you coming?"

"Uh, yeah," Peeta replied. His sense froze and tensed as she hooked her arm through his.

"So," Katniss began, walking forward. "Sleep well?"

Peeta felt his cheeks heat up at the thought of the girl seeing him sleep. He didn't even remember lying in the backseat of the old car Katniss had named 'Old Bessie' and falling asleep. It wasn't like him to just drop off like that. Then again, his mother was so strict she'd never let him stay up too late anyway.

Katniss chuckled at his embarressment and patted his arm. "It's okay, you didn't just drop off mid-conversation or anything," she said. "You'd been sitting with your head resting on your hand for about half an hour and your eyes drooped shut and never opened again."

That wasn't reassuring either.

"Aw, don't feel bad," Katniss smiled. "It's alright."

"I made an idiot of himself," Peeta muttered.

Katniss shook her head and shoved the book under her arm. "I know it'll be hard to adjust, you're a merchant. I'm from the Seam. Our ways of life are different. We stay up late, you don't. It's the way you were raised. I'm sure the more time we spend together, the more you'll get used to it."

The thought caused him to pause. He turned to her. "You think we're going to spend more time together?"

"Yes," Katniss nodded. "Why? Do you?"

"Well . . . yeah."

Katniss smiled and tugged him closer with her arm. "Good," she said. "Now let's get to school."

_**A/N: Okay guys, so I need to explain something. A guest reviewer asked me if I was the person who didn't like AU's with overly OCC characters. Well, yeah, that's me. But I'd like to explain my reasoning for the OCCness of the characters in this story.**_

_**Katniss is the confident bad girl because of the natural rebellious spark she had in the trilogy and, even though Peeta is indeed the more social one in the books, I felt he would more likely be the good boy if it were a real life situation. Comparing him to Katniss, who had the courage to get up every day and break the rules by going behind the fence and trading at the hob, Peeta was the person who stuck to the rules and kept his head down during day to day life.**_

_**I don't know, that's how I saw it anyway, and it's what inspired this story :)**_

_**(To the guest reviewer who asked the question) Oh and thanks for correcting me on how to spell Naan. I accidently deleted your review when deleting one from another one of my stories and clicking on the wrong thing :/ I hope this answered your enquirys?**_

_**Please R&R! :D**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Sorry for the long wait guys. Everything has been so crazy and I haven't been able to update. I'm working on chapters for all my stories though so please keep the faith! I would never abandon a story without telling you guys!**_

_**(PS: There's some algebra in this chapter and I'm not sure if Fanfiction files allow plus or minus signs on the document so if there's blank spaces, that's probably what should be there)**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games**_

Chapter Five

_**A week later:**_

"Peeta, you've no idea how much this means to me." Katniss kept repeating this over and over again while they sat in her bedroom, surrounded by papers. Peeta held her maths homework a couple of metres from his face, recently perscripted glasses perched on the end of his nose. The spectacles did not do anything for the nerd jibes at school but it was either that or get enternally blinded later in life.

"Well, algebra can be difficult," he replied. "But I'm sure you can pick it up. It's a division of mathematics designed to help solve certain types of problems quicker and easier, based on the concept of unknown values called variables, unlike arithmetic which is based entirely on known number values."

Katniss gave him a blank stare, not understanding a single word that just came out of his mouth. "What?" she asked.

Peeta sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. They immediately slipped back down but he didn't bother to try again. Balancing the math book on his knee, he snatched a pencil and took up his notebook. "The lesson you're doing introduces an important algebraic concept known as the Equation. The idea is that an equation represents a scale like this." He sketched out a quick drawing of simple scales. "Instead of keeping the scale balanced with weights, numbers-constants-are used. These numbers are called constants because they constantly have the same value. For example the number 47 always represents 47 units or 47 multiplied by an unknown number. It never represents another value. Are you following me?"

Katniss turned her nose up. "Nope," she said. "That sounded like a load of techni-babble." She rested her head on his shoulder and groaned. "Oh my god, this is impossible!"

"Okay, let's skip the overview and try a couple of sums," Peeta decided. "You can often simplify algebraic expressions by 'collecting like terms'. Look at this." He then wrote 2x + 5y + x - 3y onto the notebook page. "There are four terms, can you at least see what they are?"

Katniss chewed her lip. "Is it the number letter things there?" she guessed.

"Yeah, 2x, 5y, x and -3y are the four terms in the equation. What are the letters used?" Peeta asked, peering at Katniss over the thick frames of his glasses. Katniss grinned.

"Oh, I know this. X and Y, right?" she said proudly.

"Yes, two of the terms involve x and two involve y," Peeta explained. "You can re-orderthe terms in the expression so that the x terms are together and the y terms are together: 2x + x + 5y - 3y. Still with me?"

Katniss nodded, slowly but surely. "I think so," she said. "Almost, kind of. Not sure. Continue though."

"Okay, you can combine the x terms and combine the y terms to get: 3x + 2y," said Peeta, scribbling the notes down onto the page. "So, when simplified, 2x + 5y + x -3y becomes . . . ?"

It takes Katniss a couple of minutes to answer, her eyes screwed up as she stared at the page. Peeta waited on her paitently, constantly pushing his glasses up his nose. She'd asked him at the end of school that day if he'd come back to her house and help her with her maths homework. He'd initally worried-his mother's restrictions on getting home on time being impossibly strict-but Rye texted him saying she was at a friend's house for a girl's night in. So he decided to go with Katniss for an hour or two and get home before his mother did.

"3x + 2y?" Katniss asked with a frown.

"Yes! See, it's not that hard, is it?" Peeta said with a smile. He turned to look at her and his face fell. She had her phone out and was googling the answer. "Where did you get the phone from?" he asked.

"Johanna lifted one from a shop in 7," Katniss replied, turning the phone round so he could see the screen.

"Lifted . . . one?"

"Yeah, lifted." Katniss looked up at him through her eyelashes. "Don't tell anyone," she said.

"Oh. No. Of course not," Peeta said in a rush. "I mean there isn't anyone I'd really tell anyway who'd really care about whether she lifted it or paid for it like a non-criminal person who didn't want to spend their life in jail-"

Katniss laughed and pressed a finger against his lips. "Sssh before I piss myself!" she cackled. "Oh my god you get so worked up!" She smiled and grazed her knuckles along his cheek. "It's sweet."

Peeta's heart was beating expeditiously, so fast he could swear that if Katniss got close enough she'd be able to hear it. His internal panic made his glasses fog up so that she became a blurry form on the glass. He cursed and whipped them off, using the hem of his shirt to clean the lens. When he put them back on, Katniss was grinning from ear to ear. He smiled back, blood rushing to his cheeks in embarrassment. They slipped down to the tip of his nose again and he scowled, his eyes narrowing on them.

Katniss leaned forward and whispered, "You need to push them up a bit." She pressed her index finger on the small nosepiece and pushed them up his face. Her voice was husky and Peeta's mouth went dry when he realized her lips were inches away from his. Her breath was lingering with his, her shoulders nearly touching his. Katniss' eyes fluttered shut and she tipped her chin up to made the distance even shorter. Peeta's eyes widened in panicked fear, his inexperienced self unsure of what to do, and ended up snatching the notebook and putting it between them.

"Shall we continue with the alegbra?" he asked. His voice was high-pitched as he wobbled uneasily through the sentence. Katniss' eyes opened with a disappointed snap, but as she took in how flustered she'd made him, she smiled. Her smile lit up her entire face and did nothing to calm Peeta's nerves as her perfect eyebrows lifted in amusement.

"Sure," she said, inclining back into her previous sitting position. Distracting himself from his consternation, he took Katniss' phone and put it out of her reach.

"Now try without cheating," he said, quickly scribbling a second equation down onto the notepad. He handed Katniss the book and the brunette groaned, grumpily accepting it and taking the pencil from him. As she worked on the problem, she started talking about glasses.

"I mean, I've always wanted a pair. Not like in the 'I'm blind and can't see without them' way, but in the 'I'm totally rocking the geek chic look' way," she said. "I've always had a thing for men in glasses. There's something incredibly sexy about smart guys who have a way to be vulnerable." She glanced up at him and smirked at his slightly baffled expression.

"That's . . . nice," he replied, unsure of how else to answer. "So, a + 4b + 3a - 3b simplified is . . . ?"

"People think I'm crazy," Katniss continued regardless, still writing on the sheet of paper but not seeming to be thinking too much about what she was doing. "I mean, they say, 'Katniss, people who wear glasses are nerds!' but I just tell them that I like nerds. One of my fetishes are nerdy men in glasses, you know."

Katniss had said this so nochalantly that Peeta wasn't sure if he'd heard her right or not. Trying not to feel awkward, he ignored it and cleared his throat. "Are you doing alright with the equation or do you need me to explain it again?" he asked. His voice hitched half way through the sentence and it reminded him of when his voice had broken in French class when he had to recite a poem in the language. It had been the most embarrassing experience in his entire life. That is, until he pushed off a kiss with a gorgeous girl by shoving a math book in her face.

"I'm not making you uncomfortable am I?" asked an amused Katniss.

"What? No," Peeta replied, busying himself by tidying up the equipment on the bed.

Katniss smirked, knowing all too well that he was lying, and turned the book around. "4a + b," she said.

"T-that's right," Peeta stuttered, taking the book back and examining how she'd worked it out. "Are you sure you haven't done this before?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure," Katniss said. She lowered her voice to a near growl and shifted closer. "Maybe I've just got a brilliant tutor." She reached out and squeezed his knee.

Like the clumsy idiot he was, Peeta took that exact moment to fall backwards off the edge of the bed. He heard Katniss yelp in horror as his back hit the floor, winding him badly and sending a jolt up his spine. It didn't hurt too bad-Katniss' bed wasn't that high off the floor-but the fall still stunned him. Her words and tone of voice and just her . . . in _general_ had just shocked him and he'd just leaned back the tiniest bit. Maybe he'd been sitting farther off the bed than he'd initally thought.

"Oh my god, are you okay?!" Katniss exclaimed.

"Fine," replied Peeta, sitting up on the floor and cracking his back. The traitorous glasses were now askew on his face, obscering his vision. Katniss helped him back up and pulled him back onto the bed beside her. They sat side by side for a long moment, elbows and knees touching, eyes staring blankly into space. "How's Romeo and Juliet going?"

"Good," Katniss answered. "I'm getting through it slowly but surely. You don't mind me having it for so long do you?"

"No, keep it as long as you need it," Peeta said. He was unbelieveably tense, completely scared of relaxing in case he did something wrong. Katniss frowned and looked at him.

"Do I make you nervous?" she asked.

"Huh? No, of course not," he lied.

Katniss quirked an eyebrow, seeing through his lie, and her face broke out into a grin. She slung her arm around his shoulders and pressed a sloppy kiss to the side of his face. Peeta's eyes widened in shock as her lips came in contact with his skin. "Aw, that's so sweet!" she said. "I don't mean to make you nervous, I'm sorry. It's just the way I'am. I don't normally hang around the good guys so I don't notice how wacky I really am."

"You're not wacky . . ."

"But I quite like having a clever friend. I've spent half my life with dumbasses who couldn't add two and two whereas you're amazingly smart and you read and use all these big words and can work out all these complicated equations. It's so refreshing, you know?"

"I-I-I don't really know . . ."

"Oh, and the suttering is sweet. It's flattering that I can get you so flustered," Katniss said. "But, you know, _relax."_ She held her hands out and pushed down as if pushing air away from herself. Peeta mimicked her movements, pushing the air away from himself and exhaling. She was right, he shouldn't be nervous. And even with the knowledge of this, he couldn't help the jittery feeling that always overtook him every time he was near Katniss.

"So d-d-do you think you'll be able to do your maths homework?" Peeta asked.

"Oh yeah," replied Katniss. She grinned and pat his shoulder affectionately. "And since you've taught me a couple of things I'm going to have to return the favour. There's more to knowledge than letters and numbers." Peeta had taken up the notepad again and was scanning what was written there when she said this. He frowned and looked at her.

"What?"

"Saturday night I'm taking you clubbing. There's this amazing place in the Seam that's wild. Especially on Saturdays," Katniss said. "That's where lesson one-alcohol- begins. You need to learn to down a couple of beers. Won't do you any harm. So Saturday night, meet me at the entrance to the Seam, okay?"

Peeta pulled a face and chewed the inside of his cheek. "I can't . . . Remember what I said about Merchant curfews? I was serious about that . . . my mother would kill me and I doubt my dad would be too happy about it either."

Katniss rolled her eyes. "You sneaked out once, can't you do it again?" She pulled a pout and batted her eyelashes. "Please?" Peeta tried to avoid eye contact but was drawn to her gorgeous silvery grey eyes and once he'd locked onto them, there was no possible way he could say no to them. To her.

"Okay, I'll try," he said.

Katniss grinned and pulled him into a giggly hug. "Aw thanks!" she said. "You won't regret it I promise! I swear you'll have fun. Well, once I teach you how to stomach a drink anyway. I'm almost positive you'll manage though."

Drinking? He was barely able to keep down the small sips he'd taken the night Katniss had introduced him to her friends. How in the world was he going to be able to drink 'a couple of beers' as Katniss had put it. He felt ill just thinking about it. But there was a part of him that didn't want to say no to Katniss. Peeta couldn't bear the thought of losing one of the closest friendships he'd ever had.

"Yeah," he said. "Me too."

_**A/N: I hope it was worth the wait guys. I'm sorry again for how long this update took. I hope you're all still with me on this one :)**_

_**Please R&R! ^_^**_


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games_

Chapter Six

_Tomorrow is Saturday. _

_Tomorrow is Saturday. _

That same sentence ran through Peeta's head constantly at school on Friday. Katniss wasn't in registration class that morning, which sparked up a slight worry inside him. It became a topic of the class gossips, the usual whispers about ditching or clincal illness being popular. The gossips would find anything to talk about though, blowing things out of proportion when the true reason Katniss was absent could have been anything from a dentist appointment to her . . . time of the month.

The supposed clubbing on Saturday still posed a big problem with Peeta. Sneaking out for a couple of hours was one thing, but Katniss said she was going to show him how to keep down a drink. He could _not_ return home with alcohol in him. His mother has a nose like a bloodhound and would smell it a mile off. Who knows what she'd then do to him. Even Naan didn't dare drink if he was returning home any time soon.

"Peeta?"

Startled, Peeta snapped out of his thoughts and pulled his glasses-which had been resting on his head-down over his eyes. It was lunch time and he'd been sitting alone under the oak tree outside. If anyone was trying to find him-as rarely as that happened-they'd always know to check the oak tree. It's where he went every lunch time because it was peaceful and quiet. If the students were far enough away, you could hear the wildlife in the leaves going about their daily business.

Before him stood Madge Undersee. This did not help his inital startled reaction. "Madge?" he said.

"Peeta," Madge repeated. She looked uneasy, a bit pale, as she sat down beside him by the tree. "How are you?"

"Um, good," Peeta replied. "You?"

Madge nodded. "I'm fine."

Like himself, Madge kept to herself more often than she'd talk to people. Peeta assumed that she perferred it that way. The popular crowd were jealous of her because of the fact that she was the Mayor's daughter and that envy evolved into hate for her. Because they didn't live in big houses like her or have a powerful father like her. It was ridiculous how the students at their school behaved.

"You need to stay away from Katniss."

"What?" His head snapped to her to shock. What did she mean? He had to stay away from Katniss? "Why?"

"I'm seen you . . . around with her a lot over the past week," Madge said. She wasn't looking at him, her eyes were locked firmly on her school skirt, where her nimble fingers fiddled with a loose thread. "And you have to stay away from her Peeta."

Peeta blinked and shook his head in confusion. "Why though?"

"I can't . . . tell you. I just need you to trust me on this one." Trust her? He barely knew her! How could she expect him to trust her? "I know, like me, you aren't the most social person around here and I'm happy that you found someone, I am, but I think it's fate being a bitch that the first person you do befriend ends up being someone like Katniss." Madge was getting increasingly fidgety, brushing back her hair and messing with the thread until it snapped off.

"Someone like Katniss?" He wasn't sure what she meant by that. Sure, Katniss was a bit different from him. And by a bit he meant by miles. But differences didn't mean they couldn't be friends, right? "Aren't you friends with her?"

Madge frowned. "What makes you think that?"

"I saw you walking to school with her on her first day of school."

"That's not . . . I wasn't . . . I'm not . . ." Madge struggled to find a way to describe it to him. She wasn't allowed to tell anyone, her father had made that much clear. "Fine, okay, if you're not going to listen, just be careful, alright?" She pushed herself off the ground and left without another word.

Peeta was confused. What was that all about? Had Madge just warned him away from Katniss? It was the most vague warning he'd ever heard. She'd basically just told him to stay away from Katniss, even though she didn't have a valid reason for why she wanted him to stay away. Although, Mr. Abernathy had also told him to be careful just as the Mayor's daughter had just said to, even though it had still only been Katniss' first day at school and the teacher barely knew her . . .

What did that mean?

~xXx~

In the end, Peeta discovered why Katniss hadn't been in school that day.

He found this out as he was walking home from school. His mother seemed to have a lot going on with her friends recently and himself and Rye had been walking a lot more often. Peeta counted his blessings for this. He had decided to go the long way around to avoid arriving home too soon. This way consisted on passing the primary school along the way. The school was a corner turn away from Peeta's high school and sometimes it was nice to pass the building because he recognized some of the children from their visits to the bakery.

It was there he saw Katniss.

There had been a talent show for the children that day (it had been advertised on shop windows and bulletin boards everywhere) so there was loads of parents at the school gates with their children, milling around and chatting. Independancey is taught from a young age and most kids walk home alone or with their friends. Parents are only around the schools when there's an event or parent/teacher meetings.

And there, walking through the crowd, was Katniss. Holding her hand was a little blonde girl with pigtail plaits and big blue eyes. She looked like a merchant girl. Katniss was talking to the little girl, affection shining in her eyes, as she led her away from the swarm of people and out the school gates. It took her a moment to notice him standing across the road but when she did she smiled and headed over with the little girl in close tow.

"Hey Peeta," she said. "How was school?"

"Uh . . . good," he replied. "Are you okay? You didn't come in?"

Katniss nodded. "Uh-huh. My sister Prim was playing piano at the Talent Show and I had to go see her." She smiled at the little girl. "Prim, this is Peeta. Peeta, this is my little sister Primrose."

"Hi," the blonde girl waved.

Katniss caught Peeta's confused look and explained. "Our mom was a Merchant, our dad was from the Seam." Oh, that made sense. Katniss was the perfect picture of a member of the Seam whereas Primrose looked like the perfect picture of a Merchant. In fact, she looked the way Delly Cartwright did when she was little.

Primrose gave Peeta a skeptical look. "Are you the boy Gale carried home the other night?"

"Prim," Katniss hissed. "That's rude." She looked at Peeta apologetically. "Sorry, her mind doesn't have a filter."

"Does so!" Primrose protested. "Because I'm right. You came home the other night with Gale and he was carrying a blond boy over his shoulder. He was flat out, snoring and everything. It _was_ you."

"That was late Prim you should have been asleep!" Katniss said.

"Pff, I was getting to it," Prim replied flippantly. "You still needed to sing me Dad's song." Katniss' face flushed and she bit her lip.

"I know, I'm sorry. And yeah, that was Peeta that night," she said.

Peeta was alarmed. "Gale carried me home?" he asked. He'd wondered how Katniss had managed to get him home that night but he hadn't expected it to have been Gale who'd actually carried him back like he was some alcoholic drunk out of his skull.

"Yeah. Of course, I was there," Katniss said. "I had to keep a look out while he scaled the side of your house. Good job on leaving your bedroom window open. Smart."

"I didn't leave it open . . . I just don't close it," Peeta answered.

Primrose took a step forward and pushed up on her tiptoes, arms spread like a bird about to take flight. "You were here last night as well, weren't you? Katniss said she'd had someone over helping her with her math homework." She gave her big sister a judging look. "Even though she has straight A's in math."

"Prim!" Katniss squeaked. Peeta's eyes widened in shock. Straight A's? Was that true? "This was different math. This was math with numbers. You know, Satan's math."

Primrose wasn't convinced. "No, but you know that stuff," she insisted. "When dad home schooled us you were amazing at it. I always wondered how you did it. Because numbers were for english and numbers were for math. They shouldn't have mixed. But you were good at it and you always passed-" Katniss put her hand over her sister's mouth.

"She doesn't know what she's talking about," she said.

Peeta was confused. Primrose must have been telling the truth. What would Katniss' little sister gain from telling a lie about math? But if this was true, why would Katniss lie about not knowing how to do Alegbra? He'd spent a long time trying to teach her it in her bedroom the previous night and he had honestly believed that she had no idea how to do it . . .

Prim pushed Katniss' hand off her mouth and scowled. "If you're looking for excuses to bring boys into your bedroom you should at least come up with better lies." Katniss' face melted into a horrified expression and Peeta's face nearly matched the look of prue horror as well. "Maybe you could have said science or english literature. But Math? You rock at math."

Katniss looked thoughtful. "Peeta, are you good at Science?"

Peeta shrugged. "Kind of, yeah," he replied. "I mean, I do alright."

"That's what you said about the Algebra and you started spouting out all this smaticle cra-" She paused mid-word and looked at her little sister. "-stuff. Okay, that's the next thing you need to teach me. Science. Put it in your diary or whatever."

"Are you telling the truth this time about needing help on it?" Peeta asked.

"Yes," Katniss sighed. "I'm telling the truth."

"And I can back it," Prim said. She paused. "Nice specs."

Peeta pushed his glasses up his nose almost self conciously. "Thanks," he replied.

Katniss beamed at her sister and scruffed her head. "Come on, we'd better get home . . . to mom," she said. "She'll be needing us." Primrose nodded.

"Okay, bye Peeta," she said with a wave.

"Bye Primrose," he replied.

The little girl pulled her hand out of Katniss' and started walking up the pavement. "I'll give you two a moment!" she called as she headed up the road.

"Prim! Stay there!" Katniss called. She turned to Peeta and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that. She's always like this when she meets a friend who's a boy," she explained. "Although, sometimes she's dead on the mark." She then winked at him. What did that mean? "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Yeah, okay," he replied nervously.

"I'll meet you tomorrow. Remember, same place as last time, okay?"

Peeta nodded. "Yeah."

Katniss winked again before turning around. "See you then!" she called as she walked up the footpath to join her sister. They joined hands again and disappeared around the corner. Peeta was left on the pavement wondering what Madge had been talking about. Katniss wasn't that bad.

Why should he stay away from her?

_A/N: Hope you guys liked it!_

_To my good friend the guest reviewer: I know where you're coming from when you say no-one gets judged anymore for being smart or having glasses etc. etc. and a lot of them do have friends and aren't bullied (I know, cuz' I have glasses and braces like you pointed out and have loads of friends) but this story is set in the sort of cliche world where that sort of thing does happen. Plus, Peeta might gain some friends outside of Katniss' circle along the way, you never know. I love your reveiws! :D_

_Please R&R guys! :D_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: I don't own the Hunger Games._

Chapter Seven

Something was tickling up and down Peeta's spine as he lay face down on his bed. His head was pounding, making him wonder what he'd done to make the pain so prominant. Which prompted him to wonder as to why this tickling had woken him up instead of his alarm clock.

"Wakey, wakey sleeping beauty," a soft female voice whispered, pulling him from his orginal plan just to go back to sleep. Then again, the fact that there was a soft female voice whispering to him at all in his bedroom woke him up fully. The worst of it was that he knew exactly who owned the voice.

"Kaniss?" He muttered into his pillow. "What are you doing in my bedroom?"

Katniss chuckled softly. "Don't you remember anything from last night?" she asked.

"Why? What happened last night?" Peeta mumbled, his mind still half asleep. The inital alarm of having a girl in his bedroom still not fully taking it's toll.

"It's Sunday morning. We went out last night, remember?"

Peeta bolted upright on the bed as reality hit him like a ton of bricks. The headache wasn't an ordinary headache, it was a _hangover_ headache. Peeta could barely remember anything from the previous night, the whole pyiascho being a blurr of encouragements from Katniss and a lot of alcohol. Alcohol. As in alcohol that it was still against the law for him to drink yet. Oh, this was _not_ good.

Katniss was beside him, her body wrapped up in the duvet they were currently sharing. By the look of her tan shoulders and exposed back she wasn't wearing any clothes which didn't take as long for Peeta to put two and two together for. "Oh my god, we _didn't_ . . . did we?!" he asked in a panic as he suddenly realized that he wasn't as decent as he'd orginially assumed.

This made Katniss burst out laughing. "I _wish!_" she chuckled.

Peeta's hands bunched into his share of the duvet and hugged it to himself in a feeble attempt to cover himself. "Then what did happen? Where are our clothes?" He looked around himself at the room they were in. "And where are we?!"

A sly grin stretched across Katniss' face as realization dawned on her. "You really don't remember what happened last night?" she asked. Peeta shook his head, causing several strands of hair to fall into his eyes. The smile widening on her face, Katniss let the duvet dip down her chest as she reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. Peeta fought the urge to flinch, trying to keep his eyes locked on hers and not on the caramel skin the dipped covers revealed. "Okay, let me explain . . . "

~xXx~

**The previous Night: 8:00pm:**

"Katniss, I know you said you were going to teach me how to . . . _drink_," Peeta said as he anxiously weaved through the crowd of Seam kids who crowded the bar. The place was intimidating, full of teens confident in their own skin who weren't afraid about expressing themselves. "But I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to . . . you know . . . hold it down." The compressed heat in the room caused his glasses to fog up like a storm cloud over the sea.

Katniss was a couple of metres ahead of him, turning around every so often to check that he was following her. "That's what I'm going to teach you. Just take it a couple at a time." When they finally reached the bar, Katniss ordered a vodka and coke and a bottle of beer. When both drinks were put in front of her, she immediately took a sip of the alcoholic cola. She pushed the beer towards Peeta with a smile. "Drink up. _Slowly._"

Hesitantly, Peeta popped the top off the bottle with his teeth and took a ginger sip. Katniss' eyes gleamed with amusement as she watched him choke on the bitter taste, her grey orbs peering over the rim of her glass at him. "Are you sure about this?" he coughed.

Smirking, Katniss slowly wrapped her lips around her glass and slowly drank her drink. She knew she was winding him up and was enjoying every moment of it. Watching him struggle to keep his eyes away from her mouth was the most amusing thing she'd ever partook in. "I'm positively sure," she replied.

Peeta deicded to take a moment before drinking any more and left the bottle there on the bar. As he busied himself cleaning his glasses, Katniss took something out of her jeans pocket and tapped it into the beer bottle (a detail she left out when telling Peeta what had happened). The white powder didn't even need a minute to dissolve into the liquid so that when he looked back down at the bottle, it looked clear as crystal as it was when he had looked away.

It wasn't like she drugged him with anything illegal. She knew what she was giving him and had had a long conversation with her dealer about the possible side affects which were neither dangerous nor life threatening. There was no way Katniss would even think about giving an amatuer hard-core drugs that he wasn't ready to consume yet. No, this was just a small narcotic that would loosen the innocent boy up a bit.

She hadn't _enjoyed_ drugging him per say, but watching him come out of his shell definitely was the best thing she'd seen in the past few months. The drug helped Peeta down five beers and share half of a pint of larger with her. Which did, eventually, make him get drunk. Okay, maybe not drunk. More like slightly kinda really hammered.

Around 11:00pm, Katniss lost Peeta for a bit. It wasn't that she wasn't paying attention to where he was going, it was just that . . . well . . . she wasn't exactly paying attention to where his exact location was. She'd met a lovely fellow at the bar and had spent a good hour chatting to him before she'd even realized Peeta had disappeared. A newbie drunk and on the loose was not a good thing, Katniss knew from experience. And she cared about Peeta, she really did, so she made it her mission to find him again before he ended up on a table in his underpants singing a sad song that expressed he had daddy issues (a reference to the first night Johanna had gotten sloshed).

It took about half an hour to find him. A half an hour that consisted of a lot of calling, swearing and slapping men with wandering hands. But she did find him. She knew she would. Although, Katniss had expected to find him passed out in some corner, not making out with a blonde girl in the corner of the bar. Oh crap, that wasn't any old blonde, that was _Glimmer. _

"Okay, okay, enough," she said, grabbing the intoxicated boy by the shoulder and yanking him off the girl who normally spend most of her time tormenting him.

Peeta was past caring what he was doing and did as he was told when Katniss told him to sit down while she dealt with Glimmer. The blonde was fixing her lip gloss, not having a care in the world over what she had just done. Katniss clenched her jaw, her hands curling into fists by her sides.

"What's your problem?!" she demanded.

"I have no problem," Glimmer said. "Just as soon as I report this back to Cato he's going to kick specs' ass."

"Specs? That's the most patheic nickname I've ever heard," Katniss scoffed. "Now, leave Peeta alone or I might just have to kick your teeth in."

Glimmer raised her eyebrows and laughed. "What can you do? Peeta kissed me, I just recuperated."

"Do you honestly believe he'd waste his time kissing trash like you if he wasn't high right now?" Katniss tried not to actknowledge the fact that it was her fault that Peeta was high in the first place. "Now leave. Bye-bye!" She gave Glimmer a wave and a push before turning her back on the girl and returning to Peeta. She would have punched the girl if she had a half a mind to but she didn't want to get in trouble for assualt again. And it defnitely wasn't worth it for an idiot like Glimmer.

"Are you crazy?!" she demanded, whacking Peeta upside the head. The boy looked confused as to where her anger was coming from, his glasses askew on his face, highlighting the fact that there were dark circles under his eyes that meant he was exhausted. "Oh jeez, even when hocked up on Bounce you can't stay awake too long can you?"

"I'm not tired," Peeta slurred, blinking drowsily at her.

"Oh yeah, sure, of course, let's go find a room, okay?" She hooked an arm underneath his and dragged him up to stand upright. The Seam bar they were at had many rooms upstairs for kids who wanted to . . . do stuff in private so Katniss dragged a drugged up Peeta into one of them.

As soon as they entered the room, Peeta passed out cold on the bed.

~xXx~

**Present:**

"That doesn't explain where our clothes are," Peeta pointed out. Katniss seemed to have had a whale of a time explaining everything to him, enjoying his reactions to certain parts of the story.

"Alright, you may or may not have tried to have sex with me," she said.

Peeta's eyes widened in horror as he digested what she just said. He had made a pass at . . . her? How drunk was he exactly? How did he even manage to stomach so much alcohol last night? He had barely been able to hold down a single drop when Katniss had introduced him to her friends!

"I didn't let you though because, no matter how much I wanted to, I respect you and your body and the fact that you were wasted," Katniss explained. Peeta wasn't sure if this was supposed to relax him or not but it certainly freaked him out. "Plus, I knew you'd eventually sober up and I'd have to deal with . . . well . . . what I'm dealing with right now. Your glasses are on the nightstand by the way." Peeta turned and snatched his spectacles off the nightstand beside the bed. He relaxed slightly at being able to see in sharper focus again.

"I don't understand that if you stopped it then why are we naked?"

Katniss laughed. "You stripped yourself and I can't sleep with clothes on. Especially when it's hot out. Don't worry, I'm wearing panties."

"Is that supposed to calm me down?" Peeta asked. His voice was high and squeaky with panic. He still couldn't believe he'd let himself get so wasted the previous night. He was disappointed in himself.

"No, the fact that I called your father and told him you were on a residential field trip is supposed to calm you down," Katniss replied.

Oh crap, his _family._ Peeta felt the room spin as it occured to him that he'd been out all night without even attmepting to inform anyone on why he'd been gone so long. His mother was going to kill him if she ever found out what he'd really been doing. "Did he believe you?" he asked.

Katniss nodded. "Oh yeah, he did. Not much room to object when your 'teacher' calls the house in person. It's okay, he thinks you're coming home at 2:00pm. And, before you ask, I found the number on your cell phone and I found your cell phone in your pants pocket. You only have a nokia block phone by the way, if you want I can get a good deal on a smartphone?"

Wow, this was too much to take in. Peeta rubbed the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up in the process, trying to handle everything he'd been told in the past ten minutes. "Um, no thanks," he finally managed to say.

"By the way, I think Glimmer put her number into your phone," Katniss said. "I'm not sure when but probably some time while you were drunk and kissing her. I don't know what you kids got up to before I arrived but it could have been anything from chatting to groping."

He kissed Glimmer. He kissed Glimmer. Oh lord he kissed Glimmer. Cato was going to kill him. Cato had a bouncing relationship between Glimmer and Clove, whoever he wasn't dating being who Marvel then went out with. He was very protective over his women and it was pretty much inevitable that Glimmer would blab to him about hammered Peeta kissing her at the Seam Bar. What was Glimmer even _doing_ at the Seam Bar anyway?!

"I kissed Glimmer?!" he exclaimed, slapping his hand over his eyes. "Oh Dios, esto no es bueno, soy hombre muerto. Soy un idiota, ¿cómo me las arreglé para conseguir incluso lo martillado! Oh Dios, oh señor, oh Santa Madre de-"

"Peeta!" Katniss exclaimed. "Is that Spanish?!"

Peeta chewed the inside of his cheek, pulling his glasses back over his eyes. "Uh, yeah. Sometimes I go Spanish when I'm panicking."

"Where did you learn Spanish?!"

"Spare . . . time?"

Katniss threw her head back and groaned. "Anything else you want to share? Cuz' I swear if you throw anything else like that on me then I'm not going to be as thoughtful next time you get hammered and want to have sex."

What did _that_ mean?

"I don't . . . think so," Peeta replied nervously. "I mean, I'm not hiding anything else. Well, I don't think I'm hiding anything else . . . I mean, the Spanish just didn't seem like something to bring up and . . . why are you looking at me like that?" Katniss' eyes had darkened somewhat since he last looked at them and she had come considerabley closer as well.

"Every time I think I know everything about you, you knock me down with something else," she said. "Have you tried sweet talking girls in Spanish? Girls _love_ guys who can speak a foreign language. Especially the hot languages like spanish."

"T-t-they do?" Peeta cursed himself as the stutter returned. It seemed that any time Katniss got close, the fault he had as a child seemed to always rebound back to him. He had only taught himself Spanish in his spare time in case he ever had to visit his grandmother in Salou. He did once after he had learnt the language back to front and he got to know his father's mother a lot more than he had done on previous visits. Sadly, his grandmother passed away last year and he didn't have a reason to speak spanish anymore.

"Oh yeah," Katniss said, her voice very close to a purr. Her pupils had blown up in a way he knew wasn't because of any drugs. He may have been naive about a lot of things but lust was not one of them. He'd studied human sexuality enough in Science to know the signs of when a woman was experiencing arousal. Although, what was arousing Katniss was beyond him.

"Oh would you look at the time," he exclaimed, looking at the invisiable watch on his wrist. "We'd better be going. I've got painkillers to take . . . you've got . . . ah . . . very important stuff to do I assume . . . and we've _both_ got school tomorrow so it's very crucial we both sort ourselves out."

"Oh goodness, shush before I do something I regret," Katniss grinned, slipping off the edge of the bed and disappearing underneath to gather up her clothes. "I promised myself I'd wait until you were ready before we did anything drastic. Which does not count when you're drunk."

"Well that's . . . generous," Peeta said.

Katniss' head popped up from underneath the bed, a grin spread wide across her face. "You don't make it very easy you know," she said. "With your smartness, your spanish _and_ your guenine innnocence. You make yourself irresitable without even trying."

"Uh . . . is that a good thing?"

Katniss threw him his shirt before pulling on her own. "It can be an irritating thing. Especially when you're trying not to jump said person's bones." Peeta pulled on his shirt and grabbed his pants from where they hung on the doorknob. He still couldn't believe that he had tried to have sex with Katniss. That whirled in his mind like a canary trying to get freed from it's cage.

"I'm sorry Katniss. About last night," Peeta said once both of them were dressed and were standing by the door of the room. Katniss-knowing the whole thing was her fault in the first place anyway-smiled and placed a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine. It happens to the best of us," she assured. She paused and raised an eyebrow. "Say something in spanish before we go?"

Peeta frowned. "Like what?"

Katniss shrugged. "I don't know, um, how about 'goodbye, see you later, have a nice day, see you in school'?"

"Adiós, hasta luego, tener un buen día, nos vemos en la escuela?"

Grinning, Katniss wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tight. Peeta's mind went at hundred miles an hour, just having her touching him making him hysterical on the inside. When she pulled back, she pushed up onto her tip toe and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Peeta's eyes widened in surprise, the spot where her lips met his skin spreading a comforting warmth across his entire face and down to clench his heart.

"I had fun last night," she said. "We should do it again sometime." She stopped half way through the door, turning back with a smile on her face. "Hasta pronto, amante," she said in a low voice before disappearing down the stairs.

_Hasta pronto, amante . . ._

See you soon, lover.

Overwhelmed with many, many feelings and emotions, Peeta gripped the doorframe, going over the past half an hour in his mind. What was he supposed to think? What was he supposed to _do?_ Katniss said they didn't have to do anything until he was ready but did that mean she knew he wasn't ready to lose his purity just yet? Was it stamped on his forehead or something?

No. There was nothing wrong with being with Katniss. She looked after him when he was drunk and made sure he didn't do anything he'd regret. Katniss was a really nice person who he really liked and who he hoped like him as well. And, as it seemed, things were going great.

Little did Peeta know, things were only going to get worse. Much, much worse.

_A/N: Please R&R and let me know what you think! :D_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: I don't own the Hunger Games._

Chapter Eight

"Go on," Katniss goaded, nudging his arm as they entered the school grounds the next day. "Please? Just once more?" Peeta sighed, wondering what her fascination with it was all about. He avoided eye contact with the careers as usual, hyper aware of their presence as he passed them with the knowledge of what he'd done with the glammed up blonde girl who was currently cosied up to her boyfriend.

"How about you get a spanish dictionary and learn it yourself?" he suggested. The brunette girl rolled her eyes and lightly slapped his arm.

"Do it this time and I'll never ask you to do it again," she said.

This time, Peeta rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said. "Cuando él morirá, tómalo y cortarlo en pequeñas estrellas, y él hará que el rostro de los cielos tan fino, que todo el mundo va a estar enamorado de la noche, y no prestar culto al sol chillón. You happy now? Shakesphere in spanish!"

Katniss grinned. "Nope, sorry, it's never going to get old," she said. She bit her lip and took in Peeta's expression before bursting out laughing. "I'm kidding. I'll leave you and your _caliente _spanish side alone. Although you never know what I might get out of you in the bedroom." She dropped a wink at him and smirked when he turned red with embarrassment.

"What?" he spluttered.

Katniss shrugged. "I'd like to say I'm kidding but I'm really not," she said.

_That_ wasn't reassuring.

Peeta opened his mouth to respond when he was suddenly shoved forward, causing him to fall forward and hit the ground hard. Hiding his inital shocked horror well, he flipped around and held a hand up to his eyes as an intimidating figure loomed over him, blocking out the sun. Cato.

Oh, crap.

"Peeta!" Katniss exlcaimed, bending over and helping him back up again. "Hey asshole, shove off and leave him alone will ya?"

Cato laughed. "Shut your trap girlie," he snapped. "This is between me and specs."

Almost instinctively to the reference, Peeta adjusted his glasses to straighten them out after the fall. "Look Cato," he said, "whatever Glimmer's told you-"

"Is what? Lies?" asked Cato. Peeta sighed, chewing on the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. What _was_ he supposed to say to him? Lie and say that whatever Glimmer had told him was lies? He doubted that Cato would appreicate it very much if he told him that it was a drunken mistake. _That_ answer was very much most likely the one that would get his teeth kicked in.

"Well, no, not exactly." Peeta yelped as Cato grabbed his shirt and pulled him forward, his fist raised. Katniss yelped as well, her lithe body slipping under the career's arm so that she stood between them.

"You want to hurt him then you're going to have to go through me first!" she said, planting her hands on his chest and pushing him back with surprising strength. This aggravated the brute and caused him to get even angrier. "Are you going to do it, huh? Are you going to hit a girl?"

"I'll do what I have to do," Cato growled.

Not expecting that answer at all, Katniss quickly thought on her feet. "Ever heard of Bounce Cato?" she asked, stumbling backwards and pushing Peeta back with her when Cato took a step forward. "It's a drug that dulls the senses and makes you less cohearant of what you're saying or doing. Would it help if I said he was hocked up on Bounce when he kissed your girlfriend?"

The career cracked his knuckles. "Nope," he said.

_'Santo Dios este chico es un imbécil tan difícil!'_ Peeta thought, surprsing himself by speaking spanish in his mind. This was Katniss' fault, she had him speaking it more in one day than he had in an entire year. What the heck was Bounce anyway and what did she mean he was hocked up on it?

"Damn, you really are just a violent ape aren't you?" Katniss said.

"What?! Don't say that!" Peeta hissed.

"What did you say braids?" Cato snapped.

"Oh crap, we're going to die," Peeta said, backing up into a wall, Katniss' back bumping into his chest. "He's going to kill us."

"Braids? Really?" Katniss scoffed, unimpressed. "Do you just give a nickname insult to whatever physical trait your enemy has? That's stupid and patheic. I wonder what your nickname would be? Monkey ears? Ape face?"

Peeta was hysterical by now, turning around so that Katniss and himself were back to back and resting his forehead against the wall. "_Dios te salve María, llena eres de gracia, el Señor es contigo_-"

"Oh my god, are you _praying?_" Katniss exclaimed.

"-_bendita tú eres entre todas las mujeres y bendito es el fruto de tu vientre Jesús_," continued Peeta, regardless of Katniss' interupption. He'd decided that if he was going to die, repenting seemed like the best thing to do. Katniss started laughing, her voice cackling like a witch about to fly away on her broomstick.

"Feeling proud?" she said. "You've resorted him to praying for his life. In spanish!"

"Whatever he chooses to do in his last moments are his decision," Cato said. "I don't care. If you're going to stay in the way girlie then I'll leave it until later." He pushed Katniss out of the way and spun Peeta around, pushing him roughly back against the wall. "Me, you, after school. Don't be late or I'll beat you even harder when you do arrive."

"I'm sure you have some bananas to eat," Katniss snapped. "Now run along." She was asking for it, she really was. Cato was very close to punching her but somehow managed to restrain himself, shoving his fist into his pocket and returning to the rest of the careers before he did something stupid.

"Santo Dios," Peeta breathed in relief as they watched the career's retreating back. Once Cato was out of ear-shot, he turned to Katniss with a frown on his face. "What's Bounce?" he asked.

"Just something I made up," Katniss lied smoothly. "Thought it would make the gorilla more leaniant . . . I was wrong."

"_Way_ wrong." Katniss smirked and folded her arms. "What?"

_"Dios te salve María?"_ she said with amusement, reciting the only part of his rapid rambling that she could remember. "What was that all about?"

"Uh, sudden holy realization?" Peeta tried. Katniss snorted and shook her head. "What? It could be true!"

"Oh yeah, of course it could," she agreed sarcastically, hooking her arm through his and setting off in the direction of the entrance to the school. "And was this, what? Sudden Holy Realization in _Spanish_?" She emphasized the word _Spanish_ and puntuated it with a quotation mark gesture with her fingers.

Peeta shrugged. "The only time I ever went to church was when I visited my grandmother in Salou. And no one spoke english at her church. The only prayers I know are in spanish." Katniss laughed the whole way into the school and didn't stop until class started ten minutes later.

~xXx~

"Your fellow classmate, Cashmere Silk, was murdered in her bedroom this morning," Mr. Abernathy explained in monotone in form room. "We are required to tell you kids not to go out after dark until the killer is found and obtained as to protect yourselves from a fate like hers."

Peeta hadn't known Cashmere that well but the knowledge that she was dead still struck him as shocking. He remembered passing her in the hallway only last week and yet now they expected him to digest that she was _dead_? Not only dead but _murdered?_ He couldn't imagine what it felt like for those of who did know her well and were her close friends and family. Nothing like this normally happened in District 12.

Katniss wasn't affected by the news at all. Peeta couldn't really blame her for it: she was new to the school and very probably never laid eyes on Cashmere in her entire life. It didn't mean she wasn't curious about who the murdered girl was.

"So who was this Cashmere chick?" she asked as they headed down the hall to their first period class.

"Um, I'm not sure, I didn't really know her," Peeta answered. "All I know is that her brother, Gloss, and herself were on-off members of the career group. I think they were currently off for whatever reason . . ."

"Looks like she missed her chance to go back on again anyway," Katniss said. "Poor sucker. I heard about her death earlier this morning-you know before bog-breath Abernathy said?-and apparently her neck was slit open. And she definitely didn't kill herself because there was no blood on her hands and there were no knives around her bedroom. And look at me, sitting here thinking District 12 was boring!"

"I doubt a girl being murdered will make the District any the more interesting," commented Peeta.

"But there's still the person who commited the murder," Katniss pointed out. "Which means there's a physchopath on the loose and it could be anyone. Except maybe you . . . and Delly. You two couldn't pull off a murder even if you tried."

"I'm sorry but I'm taking that as a compliment," Peeta said. "What about you? Shouldn't you have counted yourself off as well?"

Katniss quirked an eyebrow and smirked. Peeta gaped at her. She burst out laughing. "I'm joking, jeez, you didn't actually think I murdered her did you? What's the matter with you?" She skipped ahead of him in the corridor, happily whistling a joyous tune.

Peeta sighed. "Me doy por vencido."

_A/N: Soooo, who killed Cashmere?_

_Please R&R and let me know what you think! :D_


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Sorry, this chapter is slightly shorter but I couldn't wait to get more out to you guys! ^_^_

_To Love this but . . . : Yeah, I know some of the Spanish is probably very dodgy. I'm welsh you see and have been using google translate to get the spanish for Peeta. I was thinking of using my native language but welsh isn't very sexy is it? As for the corny last line, I had great difficulty trying to think up a way to end the chapter and just ended it with the candycorn line. I'm glad you're enjoying it otherwise though! :)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games or it's characters_

Chapter Nine

"The population in the District has risen how much in the past ten years?" Peeta asked, holding the textook a couple of metres from his face with one hand while using his spare hand to scribble down notes of his own. They were sitting at the outskirts of the Seam, going over some notes for an upcoming geography test. It was like he'd become a part time teacher the amount of times Katniss had asked him to come over because there was something new she didn't understand.

"The population of District 12 has risen by 50% in the past ten years," Katniss stated, the line they'd rehearsed over and over again for her Geography test now engraved in her mind like he'd branded it there with a poker. "This has caused overpopulation in the District, which has troubled us in terms of food and shelter. There are currently many homeless people who've had to make their do's by working in the hob and selling themsleves to Clay." She grinned at the last part and dodged a swat from Peeta.

"Not funny Katniss," he said. "We're trying to get you an A here."

"I know, I know," Katniss laughed. "I'm sorry. It's just difficult to take seriously. Is the District really that crowded? I can hardly believe it."

"You'd better believe it," Peeta replied. "It's part of your test. Plus, have you seen the streets of 12 recently? You can barely breathe. Take it from someone who has to work at the bakery most Saturdays." Katniss considered this and chewed on her lip in thought.

"Big crowds?" she asked. "Are you sure it's not just a bunch of girls flocking in to check out the pretty baker's son?"

Peeta laughed. "I doubt it," he replied. "Most weekends all five of us have to be on shift; me, my brothers, my mum and my dad."

Katniss threw her pen down and sighed. "Do you mind working already? I mean, you're what? Sixteen? And yet you work Saturdays? That's kind of messed up."

"It's not that bad," Peeta shrugged.

He began to wonder why Katniss was always so full of questions about himself and his life and why she never spoke about much about_ herself_ or_ her_ life. She asked loads about his home life, merchant home life and such and yet never had she spoken to him about things that happened in her own home. Not that Peeta was nosey about what her life was like but it was something that had gotten the cogs turning in his mind.

"I'm perfectly content working in the bakery. Gives me the skills I need and about you? What would you like to do when you grow up, Katniss?" he asked.

Katniss pulled a face. "I don't know," she said.

Right. Another vague answer. Perfect.

"Well, what can you do?" Peeta asked. "What are your skills?"

"Uh . . . . " Katniss chewed on her fingernail, her face screwed up in concentration. She sighed and shrugged. "Did you hear about the development in Cashmere's murder?" Sensing a wall being put up, Peeta shook his head, trying to hide his disappointment in her blocking him out. "Her throat wasn't only slit, she was stabbed repeatedly in the stomach. Apparently blood was splattered all over her bedroom walls. Covering her duvets, posters, even her teddies."

"But who would do that to Cashmere? I can't think of anyone who'd hate Cashmere," Peeta said.

Cashmere Silk was one of those people who weren't horrible but weren't amazingly popular. Even though Peeta barely knew her, most people did and even he couldn't think of anyone who hated her. Even Cato had a soft spot for her. She was pretty enough, she was kind enough, she never did anything wrong, whoever wanted to kill her must have just been some sick physcho.

"Everyone has enemies," Katniss said. "Even those who don't seem to have. Nobody is completely likeable. You've made enemies out of those careers, lord knows I have enemies, and I'm almost postive that Silk girl had enemies as well. Obviously, she did, she's dead now."

Katniss had enemies? Nice to keep in mind.

"What do you think happened?" Peeta asked.

"Either she did have an enemy or she pissed off the wrong people," Katniss said gravelly. "As an obeying merchant, you don't know the connections the right people can get for the wrong kind of things. I bet Cashmere knew a drug dealer or something, couldn't pay her load, and got murdered because of it. With the Winter Dance coming up maybe she wanted to get her hands on some Fever to give her friends. Fever is some expensive stuff and if you can't afford it then you'd have to pay with something else completely."

A frown wormed it's way onto Peeta's face. "You sure know a lot about drugs," he said.

Katniss shrugged. "You pick bits and pieces up. Television helps a lot as well. Surely you know a couple of things as well."

Peeta was shocked, wondering if she really meant it or not. "Um, not really, no," he replied.

The brunette sighed. "A lot of people get busted for drugs around my parts," she explained. "You have to learn the ways of the Seam or regret it by making big mistakes." A soft breeze blew way, unsettling both their hairs. Katniss brushed her stray strands behind her ears before continueing. "You see drugs like Fever and Bounce are easy to get a hold of in the Seam-"

"Bounce? I thought you said you make up Bounce," Peeta said.

"Okay, I may have lied about that," Katniss replied. "I'm sorry. But I promise I only brought it up with Cato to defend your drunk self. I shouldn't have let you out of my sight anyway, it is wholly my fault, in more ways than you think. And I'm not going to let Cato kill you for making some stupid intoxicated mistake."

Peeta chuckled. "What can you do against a monster like Cato?"

Katniss shrugged. "I know some stuff."

"What sort of stuff?" Peeta asked skeptically.

Katniss tapped his nose. "Nothing for you to worry about," she said. Of course, hearing her saying this only made Peeta worry about it even more.

Deciding to switch the topic, Peeta asked, "You mentioned Bounce when Cato was about to beat my brains out but what about Fever? What's that?"

"Oh." Katniss smirked, her eyes gleaming. "Dear, I don't think you could handle it."

Slightly offended, Peeta also put his pen down and folded his arms indigantly. "I think I could," he replied.

Katniss laughed. "Oh the naviety of a merchant," she chuckled. "Let's just say if you make a bad mistake while drunk that includes kissing a girl's brains out you probably wouldn't have stopped there while on fever. It makes you very hot in more than one sense."

Wouldn't have stopped there . . . did she mean, something like having intercourse? Peeta was suddenly glad that he had nothing to do with the drug world if there was such a thing as a narcotic that could make you feel arousal like that. It shouldn't be something forced upon you with some Fever drug, it should be something you feel naturally when you meet the right person.

"You think Cashmere took these drugs?" he asked.

Katniss shrugged. "You never know. It's my theroy anyway." She took out her phone and started tapping numbers out on the flat touch screen.

"What in the name of sanity are you doing now?" Peeta asked, exasperated with Katniss' short attention span.

"Radio CS are doing this cellular contest," Katniss said. "If you win, they ring you up, you give them your details and you win good prizes. I wasn't going to sign up for it but then again, what the hell? Couldn't do me no harm."

"You give these strangers your details?" Peeta asked. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Nah, it's all in the name of fun," Katniss replied. "It's not dangerous."

"And what's his 'fun' game called?"

Katniss turned to him and grinned. "It's called The Hunger Games."

_A/N: *Dramatic music* Duh, duh, duh! _

_Please R&R! _


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Hey guys! Here's chapter ten!_

_Well done to those who picked up the similarities to the movie Detention! It's one of my favourite movies of all time! I've always wanted to write a proper fanfic for it but it isn't under the movies catagory on this site :/ Anyway, enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Hunger Games . . . or Detention._

Chapter Ten

Peeta began to wonder how he'd never noticed The Hunger Games before.

All radios seemed to be tuned into CS and everyone seemed to listen to the DJs on it like they were God annoucing the second coming. Even the small hand radio his dad kept in the bakery was wired up to the station. Peeta found himself leaning in to listen every so often when working his shift after school the day after Katniss explained the dynamics of the Hunger Games to him.

_"The Hunger Games,"_ the presenter Plutarch-who had taken over from Seneca at five o'clock-explained. _"is your chance to win great oppurtunity to win great prizes such as money and holidays. All you have to do is sign up on the site and wait for our call!"_

Peeta couldn't understand what the big deal was. Things like this were a sham, just an eccentric way to get money. CS radio seemed to pry on the most vulnerable-in this case, District 12-because they know that they need certain things desperately and would be willing to try any way possible to get it. In this case, money. And maybe Holidays. What holidays could they possibly offer anyway? There aren't many places to visit other than the other Districts which aren't as interesting as some people let on.

"It's a shame about Cashmere," Rye said a couple days after Peeta and Katniss' slightly distracted geography revision. "Who would kill someone like her? What had she done?"

They were working the late shift at the bakery, both of them being ordered to do so by their mother as she went out the door. If the boys weren't so distracted, they'd probably have wondered why their mom was gone so often. But there was so many other things on their minds that they barely noticed their mother's absence.

"How did you know Cashmere?" Peeta mumbled, his cheek resting in his hand as he sat at the deserted counter of the shop. "I thought blonde girls weren't your type because it made you feel like you were comitting incest?"

Rye blanched. "I didn't date her. She was just a good friend. I can't think of anyone who'd be out to get her," he said. "And now that's she's dead there's so many wannabees at school wearing black and pretending to grieve even though they barely knew her, just to get attention." Peeta had to admit, a lot of the girls who now claimed that they were 'BFF's' with Cashmere hardly ever spared the girl a second glance when she was alive. It made no sense.

"I didn't even know you knew her," said Peeta.

"Yeah, well, I did," Rye replied, his tone prickly. "I just had no reason to talk about it. It's truely strange though. Just last week she won $500 in the Hunger Games and now she's been murdered. Fate is such a bitch sometimes."

This reminded him of Madge's words the previous week. _I'm happy that you found someone, I am, but I think it's fate being a bitch that the first person you do befriend ends up being someone like Katniss._

Ignoring it, Peeta sat up straighter. "Cashmere won the Hunger Games?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," Rye said. "She told me about it as soon as it happened. She was so excited, was practically screaming her details down the phone at top speed." His voice was distant as he spoke, almost like he was somewhere else entirely.

That was another thing that struck Peeta as odd. Who would give their details to a complete stranger? Even if it was someone promising cash in return? It was stupid and irresponsible. Then again, most of District 12's teens probably didn't even know how to spell irresponsible let alone know what it meant to be it.

"What sort of details do you have to give?" he asked his brother.

Rye shrugged. "Name, age, phone number, home address-"

"_Home address?"_

"Well, yeah. So they know where to send your prize to." Rye paused before tilting his head at his brother with a frown. "Enough about the Games though, what's this about Cato wanting to kill you?"

Peeta pulled a face, the memory of how Katniss and himself narrowly avoided the impending fight after school the day the career had promised to beat the living daylights out of him. They stayed inside the music suite for an hour after the bell rang, their bodies crouched beneath the window in fear of being seen by the brute. After sixty aching minutes of that, they snuck out back, wove their way through the dumpsters and emerged out the back entrance at the other side of the District. Which then lengthened their walk home. It was better than getting punched though . . . or so he told himself.

"Who told you?!" he exclaimed.

"Per-lease. A blond kid praying frantically for his life in Spanish while some girl tries to save his ass from one of the careers? Everyone knows about it, dude. Even Naan. And he isn't even in school anymore," Rye replied.

"Uh, well, it's nothing to worry about," he said. "Just a bit of a misunderstanding."

"They're saying you kissed Glimmer Sparkles," Rye pointed out.

"Not on purpose!" Peeta protested.

Rye snorted. "So what? You slipped on a banana peel and your mouth fell ontop of hers?" He held his little brother's gaze for a moment before bursting out laughing. "It's okay lil' bro, I know you were hammered."

Peeta groaned and threw his head in to his hands. "You won't tell mom will you?" he asked.

"What do I look like? A snitch?" he asked. "Why in the blue heck would I tell mom?"

"I don't know . . . revenge?" Peeta guessed. "I did sell you out for eating that cookie when we were five."

Rye raised his eyebrows, showing his surprise at the statement. "Do you really think I'm capable of holding a grudge for that long?" he asked. "Besides, you were the one who got hit for it. 'Never sell out the ones you love' mom had chanted while she hit you were Naan's sneaker. And when it comes to things like going out and kissing girls and drinking, that's when us guys need to stick together. But this also means you owe me."

"What would you want?" Peeta asked.

Rye shrugged. "I don't know yet. We'll just have to wait for it happen."

They got back to work after that. Which pretty much consisted of sitting around in an empty store waiting for customers that probably wouldn't show up to come. It didn't matter anyway, they were half an hour from closing up. Most of the time, the whole 'going out and kissing girls and drinking' thing applied to Naan, since he was the one who went out the most in their family. Never in his life had Peeta ever thought that it would have to start to apply to _him_ as well.

"I heard something interesting about your girlfriend," Rye suddenly said.

"What girlfriend?" Peeta asked.

"Oh yes, I forgot, you've got two ladies in your life now." Rye grinned and dodged a smack from Peeta. "No, I'm talking about the one with the braids."

"Katniss?"

"Yeah, her. Did you know her mom went out with our dad when they were our age?"

Peeta frowned, his glasses slipping down his nose for surprisingly the first time today. "No, I didn't," he said.

Rye nodded. "Well, apparently they did. But she left him in the end for a coal miner," he explained. "Interesting, huh? Could wind up with a Merchant but chose a man from the Seam because you love them. It's restored my faith in it anyway. And that's how dad wound up with mom. I doubt she knows she's sloppy seconds."

"Oh, real classy there Ryean," Peeta said.

Rye scowled. "Don't call me that."

"Sorry Ryean." Peeta ducked as a projectile scone got thrown his way. "Anyway, you were saying?"

"My friend Lana has been doing some work at the hosptial and apparently Mrs Everdeen has a history of mental illness," Rye explained. "Apparently there was this period after her husband died where she completely shut off. Katniss and her little sister Prim had no one. It was a blessing that they didn't get send to the Children's Home."

Peeta definitely hadn't known that. "What saved them?" he asked.

"Katniss got some money from somewhere and was able to care for her sister and herself until their mother got better," Rye shrugged. "No one knows where the money came from though, mind you."

Peeta began to wonder about how Katniss spoke of Johanna's shoplifting with such ease. Maybe she was a thief as well? No. Impossible. Katniss wouldn't do that. Or would she? Peeta didn't feel her knew her well enough to make such assumptions like that.

Now that he thought about it, Peeta didn't know Katniss that well at all.

_A/N: Please R&R! :D :D_


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N: I apologize for the delay folks. I recently discovered tumblr and if you've ever been on there then you'd know how addictive it is :)**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games**_

_**Warning: This chapter contains non-consential sexual advances and scenes some might find disturbing.**_

Chapter Eleven

Cressida had had an amazing day. After discovering that she'd passed her calculus and geograhpy tests, she'd went out to celebrate with her friends and found a twenty doller bill on the ground, which she used to buy a round of drinks. Which then prompted the discovery that there was a deal on at the bar that declared if you bought a certain amount of drinks, you got another round free. As she'd sat in the booth in the corner with her friends, she'd checked her phone for texts from her mother, to discover that she'd won a holiday to the beaches of District 4 in The Hunger Games.

Yes, today had been a good day.

As she walked down the gravel footpath, her knock off chanel bag bumping rhymically against her side, Cressida reminisced about her old life before she moved schools. The wash of horror she'd always feel when her eyes snapped open every morning, how she dreaded to get out of bed and face the day because nothing seemed to lift her spirits because she knew what was coming when she'd get to her PT sessions.

She should have known that something was wrong when she had started to assign her with more appointments than nessecary for rehabilitating a serious broken ankle from a soccer injury. She should have been smart enough to know to tell someone about the way her therapist's hands would glide up her legs unnessecarily, smoothly gliding along the planes of her shaved skin. She knew she should have told someone. But she didn't. It's like when you're ten and you're told to tell a parent if someone touches you in the area that's covered by your underwear and you think it's a piece of cake: if someone touches you there, you tell your mom or dad.

But it wasn't that easy after all. Instead, Cressida stayed stock still, on her back on the therapist's medical bed, as the woman slid her skirt up her thighs and hooked her finger past her panties and took the liberaty if exploring her untouched folds. Again and again and again.

Eventually, she told her dad and there was a large investigation into it, ending with her therapist's arrest and Cressida's family moving away from the memories. That was why Cressida treasured her good days, because who knew when another therapist would come along, wanting to do much more than just finger her until she screamed for them in ectasy?

Maybe the trip to 4 would help her. The clean air, the smell of salt water, the calming of the waves brushing against the shore. Help clear her mind and maybe even help her find herself. Cressida was glad that she'd entered the Hunger Games because now maybe she had a chance at a second life.

Her house was in the inter-section estate between the merchant square and the seam cul-de-sac. She'd always wondered if the merchants and seam kids hated each other or if it was just a prevalent difference in culture and appearance. The people where she lived where mixed: red heads; freckled faces; tall and short, the varity was endless. There was no general hair colour to define who belonged where. It was just . . . the inbetween estate.

She was almost at her house when she heard it. The distinct snap of a twig behind her. To the average joe, such a sound wouldn't have been as distrubing, but to a former molestation victim, it caused her nerves to fray and caused her to jump five feet in shock. Cressida spun on her heel to be met by nothing but the seemingly endless pavement that curved back out onto the main road that veered off into the Seam. Siging in relief, she turned back around.

As soon as she'd turned the full 180 degrees to once again be facing her house, someone reached out and grabbed her shirt from behind. A scream immediately escaped her throat as she was dragged backwards, her arms lashing out and her heart racing in fear. The assailant hauled her back, hiding in the leaves of the Henderson's hedge. If someone passed them, they wouldn't see them because of her neighbour's idiosyncratic hedge designs.

"Well isn't it little Cressie?" A deep and haunting voice teased, a hand pushing her hair back from her ear so that their breath brushed her skin. Cressida whimpered, her hands clawing at the perpetrator's hands in a desperate attempt at escape. "And how are you my dear, having a nice day?"

Cressida's reponse was a weak cry of vulnerablity. The physcho laughed. The hand on her hair glided down her neck and hovered over her chest. She tensed fearfully, tears burning in the corners of her eyes as she fought back the urge to sob. The hand squeezed her cotton bra clad breast enough for it to hurt before sliding down her stomach and slipping under her skirt. Cressida's throat ached from the force it took her not to bawl as two fingers pushed back her panties and slipped into her sex.

"Let me go!" she cried hoarsely, fighting a croaked moan as the fingers pinched her clit. "Please!"

"Gladly." As they spoke, they quickened their movements, the arm around her neck grabbing her breat and kneading it harshly as they jammed two fingers up inside her. Cressida cried out in pleasure as she reached her end.

Then, as she came, a knife was slid across her throat and she dropped to the ground, blood spurting from her neck as her panties soaked with her own arousal and mingled with the blood that seeped through the ground.

Cressida was dead.

~xXx~

_"Oh baby when you talk like that, you make a woman go mad, so be wise and keep on, reading the signs of my body!"_ Peeta watched wearily as Katniss danced around her bedroom ridiculously, using her hairbrush as a microphone which she crooned into in a hilarious fashion. They were _supposed_ to be doing their Physics homework but that ended as soon as Katniss had switched on Radio CS to see who won the Hunger Games since she hadn't recieved the call.

Some girl they didn't know called Cressida won. Good for her, Peeta supposed. They say the beaches of 4 are beautiful.

"You know we really should be getting back to the rearranging equations," he finally said, speaking loudly to be able to talk over the emphatic music. Katniss turned the dial down on the radio and gave him an exasparated look.

"Why is it always with the homework with you?" she demanded. "Can't you loosen up for once?"

"I did loosen up once if you recall," Peeta pointed out. "And that ended caustrophically."

Katniss made a non-comittal sound with her lips that went, _'pff.'_ "That was merely a misunderstanding. Plus Glimmer was being a gigantic a-hole. I bet you anything she has a haboured crush on you or something and that's why she let you eat her face." Peeta winced at the vulgur use of wording but didn't say anything about it.

"I doubt that," he replied. He pushed his glasses up his nose and Katniss' grey eyes followed the movement.

"Maybe she's like me and loves boys with glasses. Maybe she dates gorillas like Cato just to keep up appearances," Katniss said, ignoring what he'd just said. "So that her popularity cherry doesn't get popped, you know?" She sat down beside him on the bed, unsettling a bunch of papers in which had been fanned out on the thin duvet. "Maybe she likes to prey on the weak and the sexy, like me."

Peeta shot her an incredulous look. "The _what?_"

Katniss shrugged indifferently. "You heard me," she replied with a sigh. Unable to know how to continue the conversation, Peeta let it drop and fiddled with the rubber at the end of his pencil, hoping that she would decide that it would be best just to get on with their equations as the homework sheet was due in _tomorrow_ and_ she _had been the one who'd asked _him_ to come over for some help.

The air between them was thick and awkward, both of them unable to know what to say or do. Finally, Katniss broke the silence with something that probably wouldn't make the atmosphere any better. "Cashmere was buried today."

"Yeah, I know."

"It's awful because the police announced that the doctors had found evidence that her hymen had been broken by force, so the charges have been upped to rape and murder," Katniss said glumly.

Peeta couldn't understand how someone could do something so horrible to someone as pure and guenine as Cashmere. The poor girl had probably been saving her purity for the person she loved and now it had been taken roughly away from her, having left her dashed and slitted to bleed out on her bed in pain. Whoever done this was one sick human being.

"My faith in humanity is beginning to dissapate," he muttered gravelly. Katniss glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and sighed, absent-mindedly wrapping an arm around his shoulders. His own arm wound hesitantly around her waist to return the friendly gesture. She rested her head on his shoulder. She smelt of citrus shampoo and sandalwood. The scent was so sweet and so profoundly _Katniss _that it made him smile.

"What are you smiling about specs?" Katniss teased, poking his ribs. "Got something to hide?"

"Nope, I'm an open book," Peeta said in reply.

The brunette pulled back and studied his face carefully, as if searching for something but being unable to find it. "You really are aren't you?" she said quietly and, before he could say anything back, she grabbed his face and kissed him.

It was his first kiss. And it wasn't like it was in novels. A small peck under a bridge of a garden party, or under the fireworks of Disneyland on the roof of a truck, or a quick pecking of the lips in the rain with tears of goodbyes unspoken streaking down their faces. No, this was nothing like the novels. Or the movies for that matter.

Katniss was hungry and she was sure as hell keen on expressing it.

It was like he was the only substantial food source she could get her hands on. Her lips drove hungrily against his, making it difficult for him to keep up, her hands buried deep in his hair, the feeling surprisingly nice as she raked her nails against his scalp. Peeta had never kissed anyone before and Katniss was making a perfect example of why people never stopped doing it. Because it was like throwing fuel to a fire, making it explode into a burst of flickering heat and flames, burning impossibly bright behind your eyelids as your eyes drooped shut.

"You have . . . no idea how much I've . . . wanted to do that since I met you," Katniss panted as she pulled away, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. "It wasn't as I'd planned it but still, it was everything I'd expected it to be." One hand was still buried in his hair and he became aware of the fact that his own hands hand snapped his pencil in half in the shock of her lips against his. "For an amateur, you're pretty freaking amazing."

"Um, thanks?" he tried, slightly breathless himself and unable to form a proper string of words in his mind. Katniss grinned, her chest still heaving, and reached up to straighten out his glasses so that they rested properly on his nose. He smiled sheepishly in silent thanks, cursing the day the opticion perscribed him with them.

"Katniss and Peeta up a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Prim sang on the other end of the door.

"Prim!" Katniss exclaimed in horror.

"First comes love, second comes marriage, third comes a baby in a golden carriage!" Primrose continued regardless.

"Primrose! Shut up!" Katniss' cheeks were burning in embarrassment over her sister's intervention.

"That's not all, that's not all, the baby's drinking alcohol!" Prim finished gleefully, quickly fleeing when Katniss threw her ring binder at the door which made a statisfying _bang._ She turned back to Peeta ruefully, her face a picture of perfect horror.

"Sorry about that," she said sheepishly.

"It's alright. She's your little sister. It's her job," Peeta replied.

Katniss sighed and shook her head, rubbing the bridge of her nose. A sly grin spread across her face. "You do know what this means, right?" she asked.

"No, what?" asked Peeta. He watched as she slinked back to the bed and sat down beside him. She took his chin and guided it towards her face so that her lips were inches away from his. He took a sharp intake of breath, flushed with nerves as she spoke in a deep, husky voice.

"It means now I can kiss you whenever I want," she whispered before pressing her lips against his once more.

_**A/N: I'm hoping to get back into the groove of things and I hope this chapter was worth the wait. Poor Cressida, she just couldn't catch a break :(**_

_**Please R&R! :)**_


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: Hey guys! Longer chapter for you all! Thank you for sticking with this fic even though I've been a terrible author neglecting it. Virtual hugs to you all! :)**_

Chapter Twelve

Ever since the kiss in Katniss' room, their relationship had moved from close friendship to a slightly more affectionate and passionate area. Bascially, Peeta supposed, they were _together_, judging by the way she would kiss him freely and whenever she felt like it anyway. Not that he was complaining, but there was nothing he could do about the fact that whenever she did peck his cheek or lips whenever he helped her answer a question or just randomly at her own will, he would blush bright red like a tomato. He cursed the day he was plagued with the stupid bashful trait.

Still, Katniss seemed to find it endearing. Or so he hoped.

The walk to school isn't long. Up the road and round the bend. The school is nestled off the side of the road, in a little cocoon of trees. Behind the school is the boderline of the district, the chainlink fence that was, by theory, electrified twenty four seven, would be visible through the windows of the classrooms at the back of the room. The walk was a piece of cake. It took Peeta about ten minutes to get up the road and round the corner, always arriving right on time for the bell. On the way there you pass the inbetween estate. It's an area between the Seam and the Merchant sqaure where many people live who don't fall into one of those catergories.

Nobody ever took the dirtpath to school. Either that or Peeta left in just the right slot of time where no one would be around while walking up. He liked it better that way anyway, no one there to continue their games of teasing and ridicule. It made him wonder what was so fascinating about making fun of people. Did they enjoy shredding people's self-worth or did they just do it because they felt compelled to do so, like it was their job or something?

Being alone for ten minutes had a day's worth of time alone to Peeta. He'd spend his time doing things he wouldn't be able to do at home because of his shifts or the general irritance of his brothers. Mostly he read, whether it be the intricate yet fascinating works of Shakespeare or something simple like ancient novels such as the Hobbit or The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe-the list never ended-but most of his reading took place on the walk home to and as of recently _from_ school as well.

Sometimes Katniss would walk with him as well. Surprisingly, she loved the idea of reading on the way to school. She claimed it 'got the brain pumping for an awesome day of learning'. So they'd walk side by side up the dirtpath, both noses buried in their books, neither aware of what was happening around them until they reached the school gates.

"Silly Old Harry Caught A Herring Trolling Outside Afghanastan."

"Again."

"Silly Old Harry Caught A Herring Trolling Outside Afghanastan."

"Again."

"_Silly Old Harry Caught A Herring Trolling Outside Afghanastan."_

"What does it stand for?"

"SineA oppisote over hypotenuse, cosineA adjacent over hypotenuse, and tangentA oppisote over adjacent," Katniss recited, eyes squeezed shut to keep it in her memory.

Instead of reading on their journey to school the day after the kiss in her bedroom, Katniss had made an informed decision to revise over the Trig references they'd been given previously. There wasn't a test coming up on it but she had said that she wanted to know it off the bat. Peeta was happy to comply and took her textbook from her to go over a couple of things with her.

"Congrats, you got them all right," he said. "Or you could also say Some Old Hag Crushed All Her Teeth On Asparagus."

"Right," Katniss replied wryly, cracking a smile. "So Miss Trinket's teeth crushes when she eats asparagus?"

Peeta chuckled. "If that helps you remember, then yeah. I don't think she'd appreciate it though if she ever heard."

Katniss snorted, swinging her backpack around to shove the textbook back inside. "Ha, I think it'd be quite funny. Teach the old hag a lesson for assuming I can't read."

"Have you proved to her you could yet?" Peeta asked. The clouds overhead were overcast, the heavy grey indicating that it was going to rain in the next couple of hours. Peeta didn't mind, he quite liked the rain. Like the heavens was crying.

"No. There's been no oppurtunity to," Katniss muttered, stuffing her hands into her blazer pockets. "We have to do an essay on the books we've been reading next week, which means I have to write 1,000 words on a novel I haven't even finished yet."

"Where are you in the book?"

"Mercutio just died. Which, by the way, I was pissed off about. He was one of my favourite characters! I swear to God, if Tybalt doesn't die a horrible death I'm going to rip the pages out and shove them up Shakespeare's dead a-"

"Okay, I think I get the point," Peeta interjected. "I don't suppose you think you'll get the novel finished in time for the essay?"

Katniss blew a raspberry. "Maybe? I dunno. I'll see. If I don't, I'll wing it. I'm good at that sort of thing."

"How you stopped reading after Mercuito dies is beyond me," Peeta said.

"I had to. Prim needed me," Katniss answered. "I had to hide how angry I was because I couldn't scare her. I pulverised my pillow punching the crap out of it."

Peeta laughed. It was amazing to watch how Katniss had changed from someone who'd never really read a proper piece of literature to someone who sympathized and felt emotionally connected to Shakespeare's characters. He began to think about the many other books he could try to get her to read.

Katniss grinned and nudged him. "Go on, tell me what happens in the end."

"Hmm, okay, how about, uh, _no._ You need to read it yourself and find out," Peeta said. "If I tell you it just takes away all the suspense and you'll just be waiting for the ending to happen. It's not nearly half as good knowing what's going to happen in the end."

"I think I have a fair idea because of the prologue," Katniss replied. "_'A pair of star cross'd lovers take their life_'? Oh wow Shake, what'da hold out!"

"He still got you on Mercutio's death," Peeta reminded her.

"Oh you did not just go there," Katniss said with faux anger.

"Well, yeah. I kinda did," Peeta said, grinning.

Katniss laughed and bumped him with her elbow. "For a smart boy, you can be such an ass sometimes, you do realize this, don't you?"

"Oh yeah, all the time," Peeta laughed.

They stopped at the edge of the curb, peering in both directions to make sure no cars were going to come out or turn into the inbetween estate. Not that many people in 12 had a car but after having it drilled into their brains from a young age, it had become a force of habit to, 'stop, look and listen.' They had just stepped out off the pavement and onto the road when someone called them.

"Peeta! Katniss! Stop!" a high-pitched voice hollered. Peeta turned to the sound of the voice and took a double take when he saw Delly Cartwright running towards them from inside the inbetween estate.

"Delly?" he asked in confusion as she grinded to a hault in front of them. Delly wasn't a very social person, as in she never spoke to _anyone _unless she had to. And seeing her standing in front of him, panting like a dog after screaming at them while bolting up the road at a hundred miles an hour, was kind of shocking.

"Oh my god guys, you have to help!" she exclaimed. Without even waiting for a response, she grabbed both their wrists and started dragging them up footpath. Katniss threw a look at Peeta that asked, _'Who is this kid?'_ Peeta didn't know what to say as Delly dragged them into the inbetween state and up the road. He didn't know her that well and didn't know what to say to Katniss.

But there was definitely something wrong with Delly. Her hands were trembling as she gripped his wrist and she was muttering to herself in a flurry of fearful words. He'd never been in the inbetween estate before and it seemed to lead up and over a hill, all the houses located on either side of them in ordered lines of plain looking homes with picket fences.

Delly lead them all the way over the hill to a particular set of houses where a giant hedge was growing, beginning to overhang over the fence and skim the pavement. It created a little arc of leaves and twigs, like a secret cave where kids could create a hideout. At first, Peeta didn't see what the problem was, but as they grew nearer, even Katniss noticed it.

"Oh my god," she said under her breath.

He noticed what was wrong almost as soon as she'd said this. A body was lying on the pavement, the top half covered by the overhanging hedge. A drunk? Passed out from a weekend partying?

"I didn't know what to do!" Delly exclaimed. "I was going to come and collect her for school so we could walk together and I found her here!"

Katniss reached out and moved a branch out of the way so they could see the body properly.

Oh.

She wasn't drunk.

She was dead.

No, she wasn't.

She was murdered.

She lay face down on the ground, blood spilling onto the pavement, having dried up after being outside for who knew how long. It was mixed with some other liquid that was coating the pavement that was more clear in consistancy and looked almost transparent. Peeta's stomach twisted in ruvulsion at the sight, and he felt all colour drain from his face.

"Who is she?" Katniss asked.

"Cressida," Delly said, hand over mouth and tears brimming in her eyes. "She's my friend Cressida."

Peeta was surprised by this. Everyone thought Delly didn't have any friends. Then again, he'd never seen this Cressida girl around the school before so maybe no-one else had and that was what lead to the assumption that Delly Cartwright was friendless. He sighed, wondering how clueless he really was about what he thought he knew about the people around him. At times like this, it was better to be aware of as much as you can be aware of. With so much death floating around that it was almost breathable in the air around them, missing even a single detail in someone might just be difference between a sweet little girl and a pyschotic killer chick.

Katniss, apparently unaffected by the sight, dumped her backpack and crouched before the body. Peeta watched with wide eyes as she grabbed the dead girl's arms and pulled her around onto her back. The sickly feeling in his stomach intenisifed as a giant gash across Cressida's throat was revealed, the flesh under the torn skin already beginning to fester and was oozing out residual blood. Delly whimpered and tears began to fall, dripping down her cheeks and sliding down her arms.

"Oh my god," she whispered fearfully.

Katniss swooped down and took a sniff of the girl's mouth. "Alcohol," she muttered. Peeta wondered whether she was talking to him or herself. "She must have been partying last night or something. Don't blame her, there's a three for two offer at the Seam bar on Sunday's with a buy one get one free if you buy over four vodkas."

"So she was intoxicated?" Peeta asked.

Katniss nodded. "Must have been. Pulling her jumper sleeves over her hands so that her fingertips didn't leave prints on Cressida's pale skin, she hooked open the body's mouth and scraped some of the remaining saliva out with her fingernail. She sniffed it experimentally. "Hmm. There's traces of Fever in her mouth."

"Fever?" Peeta frowned. "As in the Fever you told me about?"

"Well, it smells like it anyway," Katniss said. "But I'm not sure whether it is or not because Fever isn't supposed to be consumed orally."

"Maybe that's what went wrong?"

"What? She took it orally, went nuts and slit her own throat?" Katniss laughed. It was a hollow sound. "Somehow, I don't think so."

"What's Fever?" Delly piped up.

Katniss threw her a look as if just remembering that she was here. "It's a drug, barbie," she said coldly. "A dangerous drug that your stupid friend took in her mouth."

Delly's face flushed with rage. "Cressida was not a drug addict!" she exclaimed.

"I didn't say she was a drug addict," Katniss replied dryly, rolling her eyes. "It's not uncommon for underage drinkers to go past their limit and try out a drug. Looks like your friend Cressie here did it without knowing what she was doing . . ."

A chill ripped its way down Peeta's spine and he suddered. Cressida lay motionless, all colour drained from her skin and tinting her entire body with a dull grey colour. Grey was the new black: the colour of death. A chanel bag lay open by her side, the contents spilling out onto the pavement. A lipstick; mirror; purse; notepad; pen and . . . a clear packet of yellow powder.

"Katniss?" Peeta said apprehensively. Katniss looked at him worriedly, as if expecting him to pass out right there on the spot. "What's that?" He pointed at the packet of yellow powder. As her eyes fell on the packet, Katniss swore and threw herself over Cressida's body so she was on her hands and knees on the pavement, the poor dead soul lying beneath her.

"It's Fever," Katniss murmered, eyes studying the packet intensely.

"A drug?!" Delly shrieked.

"Yes barbie, a _drug_," Katniss snapped as if it was obvious. Peeta had never noticed how hostile Katniss was to other people. They never socialized with anyone else other than their tiffs with the careers which were never positive and always had the impending threat of inimate death. But never had there really been anyone other than him and Katniss and he'd never realized this until he saw how mean Katniss was towards Delly.

"What do we do?" Peeta asked.

"What do we _do_?!" Delly exclaimed. "Isn't it _obvious?_ We call the police!"

Katniss' head snapped up at the mention of the police. "No police!" she near-yelled.

"Why the hell not?!" Delly demanded. "We need to report a murder!"

Running a frustrated hand through her hair, Katniss nodded and stood up. "Fine, fine, okay, just-god-um, I'm gonna go." She stepped over Cressida's body and hurried down the pavement at a breakneck pace. In the oppisote direction of their school.

"Katniss, where are you going?" Peeta called after her.

"Nowhere!" Katniss yelled back sharply, taking off into a run. She ran until she was nothing but a small black and green speck, until she finally disappeared around a corner. Peeta was confused, wondering why she had left so suddenly, and wondered whether she even intended on going to school.

He didn't have a chance to dwell on it though as Delly was saying things to him frantically, pulling out her mobile and tapping in 911 on the touch-screen. The sight of her small black touchscreen was what reminded him of something. Something he'd heard yesterday on radio CS.

Cressida had won The Hunger Games.

Peeta looked down at the dead girl, his guts twisting in on themselves at the morbid sight of a dead body. Some of the blood was still fresh and glistened in the early morning light. He wondered what the other liquid was, clear, transparent and sticky looking. His thoughts were interuppted though as something caught his eye.

Well, the _lack_ of something caught his eye.

Lipstick.

Mirror.

Purse.

Notepad.

Pen.

But no clear packet of yellow powder.

The Fever was gone.

~xXx~

_**Later that night:**_

God, he didn't know the effect he could have.

Katniss ran a hand over her face as she sat in her bedroom, syringe held tight in her clenched hand. She pressed down on the plunger and gritted her teeth. The yellow powder mixed with the water swirled in the tube as it was pushed down and sucked into her skin and injected into the vien in her arm.

Katniss groaned and threw her head back as the heat flushed through her. The grip on the syringe loosened as her blood warmed up and she began to feel too hot for her clothes. Her heart sped up and the now burning blood pumped through her viens, setting her nerves on fire and sending her mind into a frenzy of dirty thoughts and images that forced her into falling on her back on the bed.

She shut her eyes and let out a gust of air. Fuck, why did she do that? Tension was building up in her lower abdamon and she knew there was only one why to get rid of it but it was the most dangerous with her sister in the next room and her mother close by. But it was just too _tempting_.

It's all his fault. That fucking boy's fault. She'd never engaged in something as frivilous as dating before until she met _him._ Him with his stupid blond hair and blue eyes and sharply cut jaw and sexy as fuck glasses . . . added ontop of his bucket load of goodie-goodie and innocence he was just too _perfect._

Of course she'd had sex with people before but they have always been people willing for one night stands without any commitment, something she knew he wouldn't be that open to because . . . because he was too nice of a person. He wouldn't fuck, he'd _make love._ Sometimes, without even realizing it, he'd look at her through the small windows of his glasses and give her the most arousing _fuck me_ look without even trying and yet still seem to have the most innocent and bewildered expression on his face.

Katniss bit her lip and groaned as she was hit with another wave of heat. Just because they hadn't had sex in reality didn't mean she couldn't use her _imagination._

She thought of David, her old sub from the previous year. The way he used to serve to her every whim and do as she said when she said it. The way he'd let her pin him against a wall whenever she was horny, no matter where they were as long as no-one was around, and let her bite and smack and suck on whatever she wanted. Sometimes she wondered how different life would have been if she had of found someone like Peeta at the small gatherings where subs met doms that time Johanna had snuck her out into District 7 for. Would she still be a dominatrix now? Kissing him until he couldn't breathe and causing whatever damage she wanted to?

"Fuck," Katniss swore, her back bowing off the bed in esctasy even though she wasn't even touching herself yet. That was the sort of effect he had on her.

She imagined them doing their homework in her room, right on the bed she was about to masturbate on. He wouldn't be expecting it. Why would he? He's as pure as snow. She'd push the text book off his lap and climb into his lap, sealing her lips against his like sealing the flap of an envelope. Her hands would bury into his soft, silky locks of hair and she'd lick at his mouth, coaxing him to open up so that they could play.

Katniss moaned quietly and propped her legs up on the edge of her bed, slipping her hand underneath the waistband of her pants and pushing her finger into her soaked folds. Eyes rolling behind her head as she found purchase on her cilt, Katniss screwed her eyes shut and kept the fantasy going.

He'd try to touch her but she wouldn't have it, because she was in charge and he was the poor innocent tutor boy she was going to dirty with her whore juice.

This caused her to deflate.

Her hand retracted from herself, her body no longer hanging with the affects of the Fever.

_Her whore juice._

This is what she had always been ever since she'd discovered what sex was. A goddamn fucking whore. She'd slept with both Gale and Finnick on numerous occasions (before Annie and Finnick became a thing, obviously) and also had that thing with David. No, she wasn't a whore. She was past whore and into the regions of slut and slapper.

But that had changed when she met _him._ He had changed her. Something about him made her want to be a better person and she had no idea why. Maybe because she wanted to feel worthy of his time because, really, why he continued to stick with her when she'd stupidly brought him to meet Johanna and co. very early in their friendship was beyond her.

And yet, he had.

He let her kiss him. Why? What were his motives? He's such a pure and amazingly brilliant person to have wasted his time kissing _her._ But then, why had he wasted his time tutoring her? Helping her with her homework? Katniss could swear that her IQ had risen at least over 20% since she'd met him which, for some Seam kids, was quite an achievement. All because of him.

Peeta fucking Mellark.

Katniss knew that if she got too close, she was going to get him hurt. Especially with all the murders going around that have still gone unexplained. She didn't know if it was _them_ who killed those girls but she hated the odds of it being them. And yet she couldn't stay away from him, not for a single second, even with the knowledge that she was going to get him hurt.

Even worse, killed.

She was fire. And she was slowly burning Peeta Mellark.

Bit by bit.

_**A/N: Reviews are appreciated, I love to hear what you guys think ^_^**_


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